ChickFlick!
by dbzchiksrule
Summary: COMPLETE! Isn't it meant to be the brave men who save the damsels in distress? Not this time, because all the guys have mysteriously disappeared, and it is up to the girls to save them! NOTE: Finally finished, WOOHOO! :)
1. ChickFlick Chapter 1

This is my first fanfic so please enjoy. WARNING I am a major feminist! In this story pretty much all of the chicks can fight, even the ones who r just normal humans in the tv show. A little bit clichéd, but hey what the hell I luv clichés!:)  
  
'ChikFlik!' Chapter 1  
  
Chichi's silky black hair washed over her shoulder with a cascade of water from the shower. She sighed worriedly. She hoped Eighteen, Bulma, Videl and Pan would be able to come to training today; they had a lot of work to do. She focused and watched a small ball of energy form in her right hand. She aimed and released it at the taps, turning her fingers in a circle to direct the energy and turn off the flow of water. She opened the shower door, and before stepping out into the cold air she started a Kaio-Ken, so that she didn't even feel the cold air on her skin. These were her usual early morning warm-ups before training. She stopped the Kaio-Ken, wrapped a towel around herself and squeezed the water from her hair. How would the others react to her news? Chichi didn't want to think about it.  
*****  
Bulma always liked to have everything perfect and organised. She bent down and wiped the water from the floor from her shower earlier that morning. She picked up two towels from the floor; one was Vegita's, and the other belonged to Trunks.  
"Where could those two be? They still haven't come back from that silly male celebration party that Master Roshi held last night. What does Vegita think he's doing, keeping hisself and his son up all night?!"  
But after all this she just gave a small affectionate smile, and her hand crept up to a small golden chain which hung around her neck. Her fingers closed around the small pendant dangling from the chain; a miniature dragon ball. She smiled again. The necklace had been Vegita's wedding present to her.  
*****  
Pan stifled a huge yawn as she pulled on her clothes in front of her heater. She was the youngest of the girls; not even a teenager yet. She loved her training sessions, and she loved hanging out with the older chicks. Her father (ie Gohan), used to tell her stories about how he always hung around the older guys when he was little.   
"I wonder if Daddy's back from his party yet?" said Pan to herself. "I wish I could have gone too!" She checked herself in the mirror and tied her orange bandanna securely over her hair. She grinned, winked mischievously at her reflection in the mirror and walked out of her room, shooting a ball of energy at her heater as she went, to turn it off.  
*****  
Eighteen stood in front of her large bathroom mirror, brushing her blonde hair. She had had her shower, got dressed and cleaned the bathroom; all she had to do was pack her stuff and she would be ready to go.  
"Krillin must be having the time of his life, he still hasn't come back!" She smiled fondly, picturing the group of men she now knew so well. And now she was part of their group of friends too. She couldn't believe they had accepted her after what she had done, but they assured her that it wasn't her fault, and she got a warm glow deep within her whenever she thought about her new circle of friends.  
*****  
Videl was almost ready to go; all she had to do was pack her bag for training.  
"Spare clothes, training outfit..." she murmured to herself. "I wonder where Gohan could be?"  
She zipped up her bag and called to Pan, and the two of them left the house hand in hand.  
  
So peeps, whadya think? Please keep reading and PLEEEEEEAAAAASE review. I like to know how I'm going. No reviews = no more story. Mwahaha I am so evil sometimes!!! So yeah n e way plees r&r. Thanx luv from me.  
  



	2. ChickFlick Chapter 2

ChickFlick Chapter 2  
  
Finally, they were all here together. Chichi was impatient to start the meeting, but she was nervous too. She made everybody sit down before she started.  
"Ok guys," said Chichi depressedly, "what do you want to hear first; the bad news? Or... the bad news?  
"Uh... the bad news I guess." Said Pan, looking around at all the worried faces.  
"Ok." Said Chichi. Here we go, she thought. "I just got a message from King Kai. Have any of you guys seen your men since last night?" everybody silently shook their heads. "Well, Goku, Gohan and Goten haven't come back either. And early this morning, King Kai contacted me. He told me... he said that..." she hesitated for a second, then said in a rush, "Cell wished all our enemies back with the dragon balls and they stormed into the party last night and captured everyone. Someone's invented some special machine that shoots rays at people to stop them using energy attacks!!!"  
There was a stunned silence all round as a million thoughts flashed through each of their minds.  
*****  
It was all her fault.  
That was the first thing Eighteen thought when Chichi told them her news. Poor Krillin. Poor everybody. She pictured them all locked up in some dark and gloomy dungeon, unable to use their powers to escape. If only she had never been made by Doctor Gero. Then none of this would have happened.  
*****  
Bulma's hand flew to her mouth as Chichi finished speaking. Vegita... Yumcha... EVERYONE! [Of course she was no longer dating Yumcha but does that mean she can't care about him?!]. What was going to happen to them? Her fingers grasped her necklace tightly. She had always thought of it as her good luck charm. She remained silent, but her worried eyes told everything.  
*****  
Pan bit her knuckles to stop herself crying out. Daddy! And all the guys! What was Cell and his stupid 'henchmen' doing to them?! She couldn't let this happen. Her eyes narrowed, and then burned with anger. It's Cell's fault. It's Cell who did this, she thought. Her hands balled into fists and her whole body vibrated with rage.  
*****  
Videl's stomach gave a lurch. She always thought it was meant to be the other way around; the men were meant to save the beautiful damsels in distress. I guess this time it's gonna have to be us that does the saving, Videl thought ruefully. Oh, I hope they're all okay...  
*****  
Chichi looked around to see her friends reactions. She had reacted the same way when King Kai had told her the news. Goku, Gohan and Goten meant more than the world to her. If they were gone......  
But she rubbed a tired hand across her strained face, and, deciding that everyone had had enough time to get over the devastating news, she spoke up.  
"Come on guys! We have to get them back somehow!" everyone looked at her with dubious faces. They knew how strong Cell was by himself, and they might stand a small chance against him alone. But with an army of henchmen...  
"Ok, there's no use denying it, we're up against a tough one here. But if we train, we just might be able to do it! You know we've got to at least try!" reluctantly they agreed, and started their training session, with heavy hearts and worried faces.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. ChickFlick Chapter 3

ChickFlick Chapter 3  
  
Chichi quickly changed into her training clothes and watched as Bulma set the Battle Machine into 'practice mode'. The Battle Machine was a recent invention of Bulma's; she was always inventing things. The Battle Machine could control the energy used in attacks. It could either be in normal mode (which was what it was usually in) or practice mode. Practice mode allowed energy to be fired at people without hurting them. Anyway, Chichi was practising against Eighteen, Pan was with Bulma and Videl was perfecting her moves on the practice mats.  
Chichi started powering up. She felt the energy flow through her like warm water, washing away all her worries and fears, and just leaving the essentials. Training always had this calming effect on her. She focused her energy into her hands and fired an experimental blast at the ceiling. Eighteen and Chichi then started training against each other. To any normal human, their arms and legs would just have looked like a blur, wizzing through the air. But to Chichi and Eighteen, the two strongest females in the world, (and after all Chichi can control the most powerful man in the universe:)!), every move made sense. They knew why their opponent had chosen that move, what they were trying to do and how they did it. Chichi fired a Masinka energy blast which Eighteen cleverly dodged, throwing a punch at her that would knock out any ordinary person. But these chicks were definitely not ordinary people.  
Whenever Chichi and Eighteen fought it was usually fairly even, but today Chichi was victorious, shooting a Kahmehahmeha at Eighteen to win the match. Sometimes, when she was feeling particularly powerful, she thought that something had entered her, the first time she saw Goku, some of his Saiyajin power had crossed over to her; like it had recognised her as having the power to be able to use it. Well thanks for the help Goku, thought Chichi, coz we're gonna need all the energy we've got.  
On the other side of the room, Bulma and Pan were having a fairly similar sort of match. Even while she was dodging punches, kicks and energy blasts left, right and centre, Bulma still managed to remind herself never to under-estimate the power of Pan. She may look small but she's definitely got a lot of power and a lot of fighting spirit, and that's one of the things I like best about her, thought Bulma, even as she got blasted and lost the match. Pan laughed and pulled her up, her eyes twinkling merrily as she watched Bulma dusting herself off.  
Over on the practice mats, Videl was laboriously going over her every move, practising it to perfection, and occasionally inventing new ones. She finished perfecting a special kicking move with the practice cushions. She imagined someone dropping out of the sky towards her...she would catch them with her toe...spin them around...slam them to the ground...and land on them. She decided to call it the kickflip, after one of the skateboard moves she knew when she was little.  
The place where they were training was a large, gym-like building situated just behind Chichi's house. It could easily pass as a normal school gym, divided into three sections; the two sets of battle mats and the practice mats, where Videl was perfecting her attacks. This was the most interesting part of the training centre. The whole of the back wall had been given up to a rock-climbing surface. All one side of the building was lined with running machines, exercise bikes, the box where the practice cushions were kept, climbing ropes beams and bars. At one end of the practice mats was a large red and white target. Attatched to the target was a sign which measured the type, power and speed of the blast you fired at the target.  
"Hey Videl!" Eighteen's voice jerked her out of her thoughts  
"C'mon, everyone's going home, it's getting late."  
"Ok." Said Videl, and she started packing away her stuff.   
  



	4. ChickFlick Chapter 4

ChickFlick Chapter 4  
  
That night, just before she went to bed, Chichi opened her window and leaned out into the cool, dark night air. She looked up at the billions of stars. She started comparing them to the groups of girls she had been training with that day. She would be the large whitish-blue star, flickering against the black of the night sky. Pan would be the large reddish one, burning with a fierce light. Videl would be the medium-sized white one, burning steadily. Eighteen would be the pale yellow star, flickering so much that sometimes it seemed large and sometimes tiny. And Bulma would be the smallish pure white star, twinkling through it all.  
She lowered her gaze and looked towards the dim horizon. Somewhere out there Cell was holding Goku, Gohan, Goten and all the others captive. What could he possibly want them for? Sure, they were the strongest group of men in the world, but...  
"Chichi!" She was suddenly jerked out of her thoughts. It was King Kai's voice in her head, communicating by telepathy.  
"What is it King Kai?" She was nervous. Any news King Kai could possibly tell her would either be extremely good, extremely bad, or would help them rescue Goku and the others. She braced herself.  
"I've found out something. I've been trying to track down Goku's thought patterns ever since they were captured, and I haven't got a thing. They must have done something to stop him communicating with telepathy." Chichi's blood ran cold, but she didn't interrupt. I've also been following Cell's thought patterns, although he doesn't know it. And...... I think I know what he's trying to do with them."  
There was a pause. Chichi's stomach dropped. King Kai was obviously debating with himself, wondering whether to tell her or not.  
"Come on, King Kai, you've got to tell me!"  
"Okay," said King Kai reluctantly, "if you really want to know..." Chichi clenched her teeth, balled her hands into fists and then nodded. Then she realised King Kai couldn't see her. He answered anyway.  
"Alright. Well. Cell's thought waves were full of evil; not a very nice thing to comprehend, I can tell you. But he kept having one thought over and over again; his obsession is to be the strongest being in the universe. [well duh that's what all bad guys want to be ;)] His thoughts were somewhere along the lines of 'once my draining machine has finished with them all...they'll just be pathetic piles of skin and bones...and I'll be the most powerful being in the universe! Because of their power that got drained into me! [Insert evil laugh here]' I think maybe he's a bit mad. That was the kind of thing he thought about all the time.  
There was a stunned silence from Chichi. She couldn't let this happen! But she had to be strong.  
"Don't worry about them King Kai. We're not gonna let Cell do this to them."  
*****  
The others were surprised when they arrived at the gym and found that Chichi was already there, fully dressed in her training outfit, and was training on the practice mats. And they were even more surprised when she told them that she had been there all morning and most of last night, too.  
"But why?" mused Bulma, with her hands on her hips, "Why have you been here for so long?" Chichi stopped blasting energy at the target and slowly walked over to them.  
"Because I've found out what Cell is doing to them."  
Everyone glanced around at all the tense faces, and fixed their gaze back on her.  
And she began to speak.  
  
  



	5. ChickFlick Chapter 5

Sorry all my chapters are so short. I'll try to make this one a bit longer. Bon appetite!!  
  
ChickFlick Chapter 5  
  
They had trained longer and harder than ever that day. Eighteen let herself into her block of flats by the side door and forced herself to climb the stairs for exercise. She reached her room; flat number 18. :) . She walked in, dumped her stuff on the floor and flopped down on her bed. 'Only a quick ten minute rest...' she promised herself. And within two minutes she was asleep. [NOTE: ~ ~ ~ = dream.]  
~ ~ ~ There was Krillin, hanging in chains attatched to his wrists and to the wall, with a prison ball around his ankle.  
"Krillin..." she whispered, but he seemed not to hear her. Then suddenly the others appeared beside him, all chained as he was. There was a few seconds of silence, then in unison, all the heads turned to her and said  
"Eighteen... what have you done?" Their voices were slow and dead, like there was no energy left in their bodies... ~ ~ ~  
Eighteen jerked out of her dream. Her whole body was wracked with shivers and tears were streaming down her face.  
The people in her dream had had no eyes.  
*****  
Bulma had slumped into an armchair as soon as she reached her home. She had tried everything to ward off sleep; a hot shower, steaming mugs of coffee... but eventually it overtook her, and she started to dream...  
~ ~ ~ Vegita and Trunks wanted to show her something. They laughingly told her to cover her eyes and led her away by her hands. They walked for some time, and she kept asking them where they were going, but they did not answer. Finally they stopped and told her to open her eyes. She did so and blinked; it was dark. She saw a flash of two mischievous Saiyajin grins, and then the two guys disappeared into thin air. She tried to call their names but nothing came out. She looked around. She was in a dark forest, and there was lightening flashing through the trees. It was very windy. She tried to move her arms and legs. Nothing happened. She panicked. Suddenly something jumped out of a tree on top of her... ~ ~ ~  
And she awoke.  
Her heart was thumping in her ears. 'It's only a dream, it's only a dream...' she kept telling herself. But it was a long time before she drifted back to sleep.  
*****  
"But Muuuum! I don't wanna go to bed, I'm not tired!" said Pan, even as she tried unsuccessfully to stifle a huge yawn. Videl, smiling fondly, tucked her into her bed and said goodnight. She left the room and closed the door. After a few minutes, Pan shot out a ball of energy and her bedside lamp clicked out and left her in darkness. She rolled over and closed her eyes...  
~ ~ ~ She was flying somewhere, in a hurry, she didn't know where. She saw a lake beneath her and went down to get a drink. She dunked her head under the water and opened her eyes. She could see the back of Cell through the water. He was vigorously blasting energy at something below him. She didn't know what or who it was, but something inside of her knew that she wanted to protect it. She blasted a Kahmehahmeha at him powerfully... but nothing happened. She looked at her hands in horror. Cell turned around and gave her an evil grin and she fell headfirst into the water towards him... ~ ~ ~  
Her body jerked and woke her up. She was tense for a second, but then relaxed when she realised where she was. She looked at her hands intently, and, on seeing that everything was as it should be, she pulled the covers up to her chin, held her teddy close and tried to go back to sleep.  
*****  
After Videl had tucked Pan in, she started getting ready for bed herself. She slowly and tiredly sank onto her bed, and was soon asleep.  
~ ~ ~ She was sitting at the table with Pan. All was quiet. Then, quite suddenly, the door burst open. Gohan strode in, grabbed Pan by the arm and started to drag her away. Videl looked down, and horrified, saw that she was bound to her chair by a strong, thick rope. Gohan and Pan were out the door already. She heard energy blasts being fired. She looked down again and saw that the ropes binding her had transformed into a single, bright green python. Its tongue flicked her chin and its red, glowing eyes burned into hers. There was a scream from outside. The python began to twist tighter... tighter... ~ ~ ~  
Suddenly she woke up, her eyes wide with fear. She knew it was only a dream, but she still couldn't help going into Pan's room to check on her before trying to get some more sleep.  
*****  
Chichi was the tiredest of all the group. After all, she had been training most of the last night as well as all day. She lay greatfully in her bed and let herself be carried out into the ocean by the waves of sleep.  
~ ~ ~ She was in the air, floating in some pinkish-golden clouds. Gohan, Goku and Goten appeared in front of her, laughed, and ran away. She laughed as well and gave chase. They got further and further away from her, until they were completely enveloped by the clouds, and she was just following the sound of their voices, laughing, urging her on... without warning, the clouds ended and she stumbled over the edge of a cliff. The guys had disappeared. She didn't seem to be able to fly, but she floated slowly downwards and came to rest in a metal chair. Cell was standing in front of her, beside a machine.  
"I have been waiting for you." He said with an evil smirk. He pressed a button on his machine and metal bands sprung up around her, binding her at her ankles, just below her knees, around her torso, her wrists and her neck. Cell pressed another button on his machine and she began to crumple... ~ ~ ~  
Without warning, she awoke. She lay there for a few seconds, then threw the cover off and sprinted out of her house to the gym. She hurriedly set the battle machine into practice mode and fired a beam of energy at the target. She sighed with relief. She still had her powers. But instead of walking, she decided to fly back to her house; just in case.  
  
Yep, that woz definitely longer that time. Next chapter coming out soon!   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	6. ChickFlick Chapter 6

Hey peeps! Sorry this chapter took soooo long to come out. I lost the notebook that my draft was written in and started panicking. But I found it now!  
*sighs with relief*  
  
ChickFlick Chapter 6  
  
A few days later, Chichi suddenly stopped in the middle of a red-hot battle between her and Bulma. Everybody looked puzzled but she held up her hands for silence. There was a look of concentration on her face. She glanced up at all the concerned faces and explained quickly  
"It's a message from King Kai," then went back to concentrating. After a while she started talking to the others, who had stopped their training and had gathered in a group around her.  
"King Kai says that over the last few days he's been gathering information for us, about the location of Cell's base. He reckons there's only one way in, and the entrance is right below the Clearwater Lake! (The Clearwater Lake was a pretty, yet deserted lake situated in the middle of the city.) Chichi concentrated again for a short time, then suddenly her features relaxed.  
"He's gone now," she said, "but he told me some more; he thinks that, apart from the difficulty of entering the base, there'll be what Cell calls the 'Tunnel of Dangers'." [yes I know; LAME!!!]. Bulma grimaced.   
"I never knew that Cell was one of those people who over-dramatise everything." said Videl, with one eyebrow raised.  
"Yeah, well, let's just hope that he's being over-dramatic, because if he isn't..."  
Pan had been looking worried ever since Chichi had mentioned that the entrance was under a lake, but when Videl asked her what was wrong, she said it was nothing. She didn't want to tell anyone about her dream, not yet. 'It's probably just a coincidence that I saw Cell under the lake in my dream; dreams don't come true!' But she still couldn't help being worried.  
*****  
When they had finished training for the day, and everyone was packing up their stuff to go home, Chichi made an announcement.  
"Guys, you probably don't need telling this, but... everybody try to think of a way to get underneath a lake, in the middle of a crowded city, without anybody seeing us. k?"  
"Yep. Sure. Easy-peasy." said Pan, and everyone laughed.  
But no matter what anybody said, they all had the one same thing on their minds as they finished packing up and went home.  
*****  
For a whole week, Chichi kept thinking about it. She thought maybe they could drain the water from the lake and dig their way down; at least then they wouldn't be revealing their powers to the public. But for some reason Chichi thought that some people (like the Mayor for instance) might not like that idea very much. Or they could try to dig right beside the lake, but that probably wouldn't work either; King Kai had said the only way in was right below the middle of the lake.  
And then the full-on way would be to just blast a hole downwards through the water and the earth, but then the Tunnel of Dangers and probably the whole of Cells base would fill up with water and they'd all drown. 'Well that would get rid of Cell and his friends.' thought Chichi sarcastically.  
But in the end it was Bulma who got the main idea. She had rushed into the gym, red-faced and panting. She had thought of the idea while she had been walking to training and had run as fast as she could the rest of the way. She hurriedly explained her idea while the others listened intently. And when she had finished, there was a grin on every face.  
Things were moving again.  
*****  
They all prepared as quickly as they could after that; the very next day they were ready to go into action. They met beside the lake, all wearing their communicators in case of an emergency. [Note: Communicators are like wrist-watches with a radio where the clock face should be]. Chichi carried a very normal looking picnic basket and Videl carried a very normal looking rug over one arm.  
"I can't wait to have this picnic by the lake!" said Pan, grinning slyly up at her mother. So off they went. They walked along beside the lake, trying to act natural even though their insides were having a wrestling match. They finally got to a fairly secluded spot and dumped all their 'picnic' stuff under a tree. Everyone could sense a sudden alertness in the air; this is what they had really come here for. They walked with a purpose but said nothing to each other, over to the side of the lake. They waded into the water until they were almost completely hidden by the tall reeds.  
And it was there that Chichi started to raise the Shield. They tried not to think about what would happen if Chichi couldn't pull this off; they didn't know if it was possible to do what she was going to attempt. But they all agreed. It was the only way. She raised the Shield higher and higher. It extended like an electric blue, yet transparent bubble, enveloping her. Gradually it crept up to the others, a shimmering wall of energy in their faces. They didn't move. Slowly it had surrounded them as it had done with Chichi. They felt as if they were looking through blue cellophane.  
Slowly they started rising into the air. Once they were above the shelter of the reeds, Chichi raised the hologram.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	7. ChickFlick Chapter 7

Ok I realise my chapters are STILL really short, but at least they keep on growing longer each time.  
Hope you enjoy it. By the way, thanx to the ppl who have reviewed this, its sooo kewl 2 know wot ppl think. The storyline gets pretty complicated so if you have n e questions just email me. I'll stop babbling on now and let you read this chapter. Bye!  
  
ChickFlick Chapter 7  
  
Chichi was nervous, but she didn't want the others to know. It was going to take all of her willpower and concentration to control the huge combined power of the Shield and the hologram. As she started creating the hologram she almost felt the Shield crumble, but she clamped her teeth together and held it firmly in place. Now the combined hologram and Shield was almost 5m wide, and Chichi was starting to make it rise. Up they flew, with the bubble around them. They could see the whole city spread out below them.  
*****  
[Note: Don't start panicking and saying 'who the Hell is Jack Williams?!'. Coz I invented him, so you probably wouldn't have heard of him b4. :))  
  
Little 6-year-old Jack Williams sucked his thumb and held a helium balloon tightly in his other little fist. He was so tired, and his feet were so sore! His Mum and Dad had been marching him all over the city while they bought all kinds of boring stuff. Suddenly he felt a kind of electricity running through his body, like someone had recharged his batteries. For no particular reason, he looked up. And then he saw it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a sort of shimmering patch in the air, like the heat waves you see above the road on a hot day. He blinked and took a closer look, but it was gone. The energy which had previously flooded his body had evaporated. He shook his head, sighed, and kept trudging along behind his parents.  
*****  
Wisps of cloud started floating past their faces as the group rose even higher.  
"D'YOU RECKON THIS IS ENOUGH?" Chichi yelled to the others over the hum of the Shield. "I DUNNO IF I CAN KEEP THIS UP MUCH LONGER."  
"YEAH, IT SHOULD BE OK." They agreed. So the four of them started powering up, while Chichi held the shield in place. They all flashed each other nervous grins as they counted down together.  
('Omigod I don't know if I can do this!' thought Bulma)...3...... ('Come on, I know we can do it!' thought Videl.)...2...... ('Lets go girls!' thought Eighteen hysterically, unable to stop the grin spreading across her face)...1......('YEEHAH!!!' screamed Pan inside her head)......BLASTOFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [ie very dramatic].  
[note: MAJOR CLICHÉ COMING UP! Just a warning].  
Chichi just had time to think one line of thought before everything seemed to explode:  
"Let's kick some butt."  
*****  
But in the next few seconds Chichi didn't have time to think anything. She had to extend the shield around the whole lake area. [ie a lot of power] [ie needing a lot of concentration].  
She felt her will power exploding. Not simply crumbling away, but exploding into a million pieces. Yet the shield was still surrounding them. She knew her friends were all around her, blasting down into the lake with all their might. But she only knew this because she was having to use the shield to stop the water from the lake flooding into the hole. But apart from the electric hum of the shield, there was a ringing silence filling her ears. She had lost all control now... she was floating away...  
But as she fell downwards towards the surface of the lake, she knew it didn't matter; they were through.  
*****  
'I don't know if I can do this!' fretted Bulma to herself as they counted down. But she firmly took hold of her fears and tried to concentrate. She had powered up and could already feel the energy surging through her. She focused it into her hands...  
"MA...SIN...KAAA!!!" The blast blew her back a few metres in the air. She could see three other beams of energy racing towards the same area of the lake as hers. Just before they hit the surface of the water they combined. There was an extra big flash of light and when Bulma opened her eyes, there was a small and almost perfectly circular hole in the middle of the lake. She was about to cheer when she saw Chichi about to fall...  
*****  
'Come on, I know we can do it!' Videl tried to radiate her feelings out to the others as she prepared for the blast. She focused on the small boulder under the surface of the lake. That was their target. She took a deep breath.  
"STAR...BLAST!!!" [yes I made that attack myself; 10 small balls of powerful, concentrated energy shaped like small stars fly from the outstretched fingertips. 10 energy balls and 10 fingertips. Get it? N e way.]  
She had never concentrated so hard. Her hands and the energy streaming from them were filling her whole vision. She just had time to notice that they were pulsing slightly before she saw Chichi falling...  
*****  
'Let's go gals!' said Eighteen wickedly, allowing herself a private grin. She was trying to appear confident, but her internal organs had decided to have a lesson in gymnastics and were currently cartwheeling all over the place. What would happen when she came face to face with Cell? It would be the first time since... and Cell wasn't going to let her take it easily, after what she had been trying to do...  
But she jerked herself away from that line of thought. 'That doesn't matter now,' she told herself, 'after all; a gals gotta do what a gals gotta do!' She allowed herself one more secretive smile then started building up the Destructo Disc; an attack she had learned from Krillin. And on the signal, she let fly. She watched long enough to see that the energy beams had successfully combined and blasted through the lake, then turned to Chichi to see what she thought about their victory.  
Chichi's closed eyelids were flickering and her fists were tightly clenched. As Eighteen watched, Chichi's eyelids stopped flickering and her hands relaxed and unclenched; she had fainted. Almost as if she was in slow motion, she fell through the sky. . .  
*****  
'YEEHAH!!!' screamed Pan inside her head. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her now, almost as strong as the energy itself. And she knew now, more than ever, there was Saiyajin blood in the midst of all that energy and adrenaline, and she was proud of it.  
"Oh, you better watch out Cell, coz here... we... COME!" and with that she blasted a strong Kahmehahmeha at her target. She saw the smouldering hole in the middle of the lake and turned to face Chichi.  
"That was the most satisfying thing I've ever..." but her voice faltered, then stopped. Chichi wasn't there. She was a long way below, only a few metres away from the surface of the lake and still falling.  
*****  
As one, the four of them dived, hurtling towards the water's surface. It was a race between them and Chichi's limp body. Luckily, it was them who won, but only just. They all reached her at the same time, about a metre above the surface. They supported her gently between the four of them and looked downwards. Almost directly below them was the whole in the lake. It was only about two metres in diametre and the water was pouring through; the shield had failed as soon as Chichi blacked out. They all thought that they had better make this quick. Glancing around at them all, Videl said  
"We'd better get out of sight. People will start turning up soon, and they might want to know just why we blew a hole in the town lake. And I really do not want to have to answer that question right now." She looked pointedly at the lake and they somehow all managed to squeeze through, still supporting Chichi. They lowered her gently onto the driest piece of ground they could find, and looked around. They were in a tunnel which seemed to stretch away forever into the darkness.  
"We must be in the Tunnel of Dangers." Whispered Eighteen. There was no reason for her to whisper, but a hush had fallen on the whole group.  
"Well..." said Bulma, trying to break the silence, "... I reckon three of us should go up that way a bit and see if there's anything to see..." here she indicated the inky blackness before them,"and one of us should stay and look after Chichi."  
At the mention of her name everyone glanced down at her. She was still lying completely still and lifeless at their feet.  
"What happened up there?" asked Pan curiously. "Why did she..." Her voice trailed away and she looked up at her mother's face. Videl was staring at Chichi without really seeing her.  
"So much power..." murmured Videl, to herself more than anyone else, "So much power... and trying to control it..." After this statement there was a minute of thoughtful silence.  
Bulma stirred them all back into life, saying  
"She should be okay; she just needs to rest. How about you guys check out the tunnel and I'll stay here with Chichi." The others thought this was a good idea, so they hugged Bulma, wished each other good luck, and were about to leave when Eighteen said  
"Hey Bulma; if we don't come back after about half an hour... don't come after us. Grab Chichi and get the heck out of here, ok?"  
"Don't worry," Bulma said, "you'll be fine." Eighteen, Videl and Pan all nodded and strode off into the darkness.  
Bulma knelt down beside Chichi's unconscious body to wait for their return. She watched the water cascading through the hole and shivered. It was so dark and cold and damp in here. At least her eyes were finally beginning to adjust. This place reminded her of the forest in her dream. She shivered again.   
All of a sudden she was in her dream again. Something dropped down on top of her, wrestling her to the ground. It pinned her hands behind her back to stop her blasting energy. She struggled, but felt something sharp inject itself into her neck. She felt all the energy draining out of her body. She felt something like a mouth tighten itself around her waist, and for a second she thought that she was going to be eaten, without even getting a glimpse of her attacker before she died.  
Suddenly she snapped out of her dream and returned to real life. This didn't improve things much; her dream had been real, and she was still in the grasp of the creature.  
The creature wasn't eating her, only picking her up and carrying her away. And she could finally see what it was; a huge spider, more than three metres long. She knew it was no good calling out for help. The others would be too far away to hear her right now. Besides, she didn't seem to have any energy left, even for yelling. Her whole body felt limp and useless. She just managed to work up enough energy to twist in the spider's grasp and look over its shoulder to where Chichi was still lying. As she watched, she saw a dark, shadowy figure dart out of a corner, seize Chichi by the wrists and start to drag her away.  
This time Bulma had to cry out.  
"Chichi!!!" she yelled in panic, "Chichi... WAKE UP!!"  
But Chichi only stirred slightly in the shadowy figure's grasp, and soon she had been dragged out of sight.  
This sapped any remaining energy that Bulma might have had left, and she slumped down again. She tried to think through the fog in her cloudy brain. 'Must be a mild sedative poison...' She felt so tired...  
The spider seemed to be carrying her to a crack in the rock wall at the opposite end of the tunnel to the direction the others had taken. The spider narrowly managed to squeeze through the gap and kept on scuttling down the narrow passageway beyond. For a few minutes, there was no sound except for the scuffling of the spider's feet on the floor. It finally came to a halt. Bulma tried to find the energy to lift her head, but there was nothing there. She just hung from the spider's jaws, waiting to see what it would do next.  
To her great surprise, the spider dropped her. Instead of hitting the floor after a fall of a couple of metres, like the assumed, she kept falling. She started thinking that maybe the spider had disposed of her by dropping her off a cliff. She had fallen about 20 metres when, face-up, she suddenly hit something that was soft, slightly bouncy and extremely sticky. Immediately Bulma felt like she had been stuck down with super glue. She managed to twist her head to one side and saw that she was caught in a huge, horizontal spiderweb, which spanned across a huge, deep chasm; the bottom was lost in the darkness. She twisted her head the other way and saw the spider picking its way down the rough surface of the cliff, down to the 'floor' that the web created.  
Bulma started feeling a little more energised. But just as she was thinking about blasting herself out of there, the spider scuttled across the web towards her. She fought back the urge to scream in fear and frustration as it bit her again. And this time the spider injected so much venom into her body that it didn't only make her weak; she was only just barely hanging on to consciousness.   
Luckily for Bulma, the spider did not seem to be hungry for the moment, but it obviously preferred fresh food; it started to wrap her up in the same sticky thread as the web was made out of. Starting from her feet, the spider wound the thread tightly around her body. A wave of sick revulsion washed through her as the spider's thread crept up to her stomach. Soon her arms were pinned down and it was up to her neck... in her mind she was screaming out for help... and soon she was completely encased by the dark, stuffy, sticky thread.   
Bulma thought the spider had probably gone to rest somewhere as the web beneath her was no longer vibrating with its scuttling footsteps. She was now left with her foggy brain, trapped inside a basically useless body. She kept telling her arms and legs to struggle, but somehow the instructions got lost on the way and she just lay there.  
For the first few minutes she could still just breathe with the small amount of air that was filtering through the thread, but soon the air in her prison started to go stale. She struggled to draw breath. A red mist started clouding around her eyes, and she felt her mind slip away into darkness  
*****  
  
  
  
  
Well hopefully this chapter is a lot longer than the others. Soon I'll have to try to insert a diagram and publish it in html form, coz... well I can't tell u y but you will probably need a diagram to understand the next bit. Just never mind, ok? It doesn't need to come yet anyway. Ok I'll shut up now.   
Please review!!! You don't even wanna know my hit to review ratio. As I said b4, thanx to all the people who have already reviewed. C ya!  
  
  
  



	8. ChickFlick Chapter 8

Sorry this took so long to come out. More homework :(. But here it is. And also, I just realised that (duh) I can't put pictures here. So for the confusing part that I said you would probably need a diagram for, just email me at crazygal2000jn@yahoo.co.uk and hopefully I will be able to send you the pic. Did that make sense? Oh well.  
  
ChickFlick Chapter 8  
  
Eighteen, Videl and Pan left Bulma and started striding off in the opposite direction. They walked quickly, in silence. Their nerves were tingling with alertness [is that a word?], they but couldn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary. Occasionally they would stop and listen, straining their ears in the darkness. But all they could hear was the steady drip and gurgle of water in the passageway. The place seemed deserted. The Tunnel of Dangers didn't seem to be very dangerous so far. They had been walking for more than ten minutes without sight or sound of anything unusual, so they decided to start making their way back to Bulma and Chichi. The steady sound of the drops of water echoed eerily around them and mingled with the sound of their footsteps. The sound of the water magnified as they drew near to the hole.  
At the same time, they all stopped so suddenly that it looked like they had run into an invisible wall; Chichi and Bulma had disappeared. They looked around and saw strange marks in the muddy floor. Videl squatted down near the largest and most concentrated group of them.  
"Look, here," She pointed, "that's a human footprint. That must have been Bulma. But what's this one, the smaller one? Who does that belong to?"   
"Or what does it belong to." Intoned Pan gloomily under her breath.  
Eighteen walked up to where Videl was crouching and bent over to examine the marks for herself. She walked a few paces to and fro, still bent over, and announced to them  
"Hey, look! The smaller tracks go off this way, but the normal footprints stop." Pan felt like something cold and heavy had dropped into her stomach, and she knew that she was feeling the weight of her fear. Videl shrugged and tried to speak without her voice quivering.  
"We may as well follow them." But her voice didn't sound very carefree, even to her. All of them were dreading what they would find at the end of those tracks, even though they weren't quite sure what it would be. They started off down the tunnel again, following the tracks. The noise of the water through the hole dwindled as they proceeded. Eventually they came to the crack in the wall through which the spider, (with Bulma in its grasp), had disappeared, although they didn't know that at the time. Being a lot smaller than the spider, they could slip through easily and continue on their way.   
The dark walls seemed to press in on them, and the clammy air smelt of evil and danger. They shuddered and pressed closer together. Pan had a powerful urge to grab hold of her mother's hand and never let go. All of a sudden, the passage opened up into the largest cave that they had ever seen. If they thought it went up forever, they were even more astounded when they looked down. They saw a bottomless pit, which seemed to just sink down and evaporate into a black nothingness. But this blackness was hidden under (what first seemed to them), a huge cloud of whitish-grey mist. On closer inspection they realised it was a huge spiderweb, so thick that it was hard to see through it. Luckily, there didn't seem to be any spiders nearby.  
At the same time, they all gasped and leaned forward; they had seen a human-sized lump in the web. This lump was perfectly still. Slow but alert, they flew down to hover above it. Videl pointed silently to a lock of Bulma's hair which had missed being encased by the web.  
"She's probably unconscious; the lack of air." Her words boomed strangely around them, bouncing of the walls and echoing back to them. She hoped she was only unconscious.   
After a few seconds of thought, Eighteen said unsurely  
"I... I think I have an idea..."  
"WHAT?!" demanded Pan, nervous impatience rising within her.  
"Well... me and Videl could blast through the web in a circle around Bulma... and you could catch her from underneath."  
"Ok," Pan agreed, "let's go. Quick." She added needlessly.  
They got into their positions, with Eighteen and Videl above, and Pan below. Pan shuddered in the semi-darkness that the web cast about her. She had slipped underneath in a gap between the web and the wall in the corner of the cavern. She put her fears aside and tried to focus.  
"Ok, when I say go." said Videl, and Eighteen nodded.  
"Ready... set... GO!"  
Their blasts cut through the web like butter. They worked in a circle around Bulma's body until the portion fell away and Pan caught it underneath. Together they lifted her up to the ledge above the web and laid her gently on the stone floor. Then they all directed a tiny amount of energy to their fingertips, just so they were glowing slightly, so the web wouldn't stick to them as they ripped it away from Bulma. As Eighteen wiped the last strand away, they could see that Bulma was completely still. Anxiously Videl listened for a heartbeat and felt for a pulse; they held their breath... but Videl nodded in relief and they breathed once more.  
"It's probably just a fairly mild poison, and of course the lack of air. She should be okay in no time." Said Videl reassuringly.  
At that moment Bulma's eyelids fluttered open and she groaned groggily.  
"Lookout..." she moaned.   
"Don't worry, your okay now, everything's gonna be all right." Soothed Videl. And at that second they heard Eighteen's scream.  
They could only see her arms and her head above the edge of the ledge; something was pulling her downwards. It was the spider, huge and black and hairy. It had crept up silently behind them from a dark corner and attacked. It was dragging her down, down, down into the repulsive darkness below. And it was angry. It would not let its prey escape again. Its eyes gleamed in anticipation. Videl and Pan leapt forward at the same moment, jumping from the edge of the cliff and spinning around in mid air to face the spider. Eighteen was still in its grasp, just managing to hold on to the top edge of the cliff with one hand. Pan fired an experimental StarBlast at the spider's body, but its hide was so thick that the attack bounced right back at them and they were forced to dive in opposite directions. The blast blew between them and hit the wall behind, making a gigantic booming sound that echoed throughout the cave.  
The spider, oblivious, continued to tug at Eighteen, until with a cry her hand was dragged away from its hold. Then, slowly and carefully, the spider picked its way down the cliff-face. It was going headfirst, and Eighteen, sensing the huge black depths before her, could do nothing but hang, helpless, her head spinning, in the spider's iron jaws. Videl and Pan flitted back and forth overhead like frenzied flies, trying not to let panic get the better of them.  
Then it clicked.  
"Go for the eyes!!!" yelled Pan suddenly, even as she dived at the creature's head. For a second she hung there, exchanging stared with the spider. Its eight eyes were full of evil laughter, mocking her. She mentally shook herself and concentrated her energy. Rocks were falling everywhere, in huge chunks, from the StarBlast that had hit the wall. The whole chamber was going to collapse. All this flashed through Pan's mind in a fraction of a second as she focused her energy into her hands...  
"MASINKA!!!" She blasted away at the spider's head. Its eyes were burned, melting. It had been blinded. It shook its head in alarm and slightly loosened its grip on Eighteen.  
That was all she needed. Eighteen wrenched her body out of the spider's grasp and they all rocketed towards the top of the cliff, dodging the falling rocks. A mounting noise of rumbling filled their ears, seeming to come from the very air around them. They landed and sprinted the last few metres towards Bulma, who was lying weakly near the entrance. Supporting her between them, they hurried through the doorway just as the whole chamber collapsed behind them.  
*****  
  



	9. ChickFlick Chapter 9

Okay, people. At the moment I have been working on my first humorous story entitled 'Goku's Worst Nightmare'. Everyone look out for it. But it might be a while til I finish it so...yeah. Anyway. This chapters a little short because I wanted it to have a dramatic finish.  
  
ChickFlick Chapter 9  
  
They walked quickly back along the passageway, still shaking, in silence, everyone's mind on a different track. Videl and Eighteen were supporting Bulma between them. It wasn't until they reached the hole in the lake, with the water pouring through, that they began to talk. Bulma told them about the spider's attack on her and the dark shadowy figure that had taken Chichi.  
"I'm sorry..." she whispered, her cheeks burning with shame. "I should've done something. I should have..."  
"Bulma, it wasn't your fault, you know it wasn't!" said Videl, hugging her tightly. None of them had yet taken in the full extent of what Bulma had been through.  
"But where could it have taken her?" Pan broke in, wondering around.  
While all this was taking place, Videl had been pacing around the area of the attack. Now her cry of discovery brought the others running.  
"Look!" she said, "the tracks!" And sure enough, there in the mud were the marks of someone being dragged, with small, strangely shaped footsteps proceeding in front.  
A little way down the tunnel was a huge rock, still halfway embedded in the wall. A little gap was formed between the rock and the wall. It was here the footsteps led, then they continued on further down the tunnel which Eighteen, Videl and Pan had found so strangely empty.  
"Ok," said Videl, "here's what I think happened: When we walked off down the tunnel, the...the THING was hiding behind the rock. Then when the spider came it took Chichi and hid behind the rock again until we had gone, and then it disappeared in the other direction."  
No one spoke. It was clear to all of them what they had to do. Still without saying a word, they started off down the tunnel.  
*****  
After just ten minutes of this they were nervous and jumpy. The irregular noise of the water trickling and dripping was bad enough, but they kept imagining light footsteps behind them, following them in the dark...  
After a quarter of an hour, when Pan could no longer bear the silence, she said to her mother  
"Chichi would be annoyed; all the training she did, and she might not get to pass through the Tunnel of Dangers!"  
"Oh, I daresay there'll still be plenty for her to do when we find her." Pan noticed that her mother put the tiniest emphasis on 'when', (As opposed to 'if'), and her eyes were fixed on a point somewhere in the distance. She reached over and took her mother's hand. Videl just squeezed it, and they walked on together, hand in hand.  
Twenty minutes since they had started out, they finally came to a sudden change in the monotonous tunnel. Without warning it had widened out into a huge, round, bowl-shaped area, probably more than 100 metres in diametre. Evenly spaced around the rim of the basin were large round boulders, about 2 metres high and set about 2 metres apart.  
The group slowly walked towards the centre of the bowl, silent in their amazement. The roof was so high it was lost in the darkness. The sound of the water could not be heard in this huge space. As they reached the middle they stopped and stood still. Bulma had been walking normally for the last part of their journey. (The spider's poison had worn off). Now she looked up and pointed.  
"Look!"  
Then the others saw what she had seen. In the opposite wall of the room were a set of huge, double-doors, made of something which glimmered dully in the dim light, which seemed to come from nowhere. There was a tangy stillness hanging in the air as they walked over to the doors. Eighteen looked over her shoulder nervously.  
When they were just a few more steps away from the door, two strange creatures appeared from behind the two boulders on either side of it. The creatures just stood there, blocking the way. Videl, Eighteen, Pan and Bulma stood there, dumb-founded. The creatures were fairly small; green and scaly, with tough-looking skin. They had large pointed ears and antennae on their heads.  
One of them started making noises. It took the others a few seconds to realise that he was talking their language, because he made a strange hissing sound after every two or three words.  
'We are the ssssCybermenssss," he was saying, "humble ssservantss of the Lord sssCell. None shall passsss thiss door without hissss permission." The two Cybermen said nothing more, but the group was aware of their huge green eyes, staring at them through the semi-darkness.  
After a few seconds of contemplating silence Bulma stepped forward, declaring grimly  
"Well, we're going through. You can tell your 'Lord' Cell that some very annoyed chicks are after his blood." She smiled wickedly. A sudden anger flashed in the eyes of the two Cybermen.  
"None shall passsss without defeating usss firsst."  
At that moment the whole chamber was flooded with light. Their heads jerked instinctively upwards, and they then saw, hovering in the air just below the roof... a small cube, glowing brightly from an unseen power source. They only just heard Bulma muttering something about a 'power cube' before the Cyberman was talking again.  
"Sssso you will not turn back?"  
No one bothered to answer him.  
"Then there'ssss only one thing left to do." His last word came out as a hoarse, angry whisper.  
"ssssssss....attack."   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	10. ChickFlick Chapter 10

Hi!!!!!!!!!!! I finally finished my humour fic, "Goku's Worst Nightmare", so READ!!!! (please? *puppy dog eyes*). Um... Where was I? Oh, yeah, writing the new chapter. Ok.  
  
ChickFlick Chapter 10  
  
Bulma, Eighteen, Pan and Videl just had time to split up and rocket off in different directions before the first wave of Cybermen was upon them. [NOTE: Yes, sorry about my spelling, these are the same lil green 'Sai Ber men' (or whatever) that came to Earth with Nappa and Vegita. Thanks to the person who pointed that out for me in their review :) Anyway].  
Down they came, a venomous green wave so thick that Bulma couldn't see the ground beneath them. They could have been deadly snakes. She shuddered. Just as she started powering up they were upon her. Even while she was gathering her energy, she fought as hard as she could. It wasn't that their power level was anywhere near hers; it was their sheer numbers which stopped her making any headway. She was now powered up enough to use small energy attacks. Balls of light blossomed from her fingertips and zipped through the air. Her limbs were just fast moving blurs.  
When one of the Cybermen dropped to the ground, another simply moved forward to take its place. She would soon start tiring, but their numbers would not. She clenched her teeth and kept fighting.  
*****  
The speed of the battle was intense. Time was measured in mili-seconds. If Eighteen had ducked just a quarter of a second later, she would no longer have a head. Her Destructo Discs went wizzing through the crowd of Cybermen. She was spinning so much that her blonde hair streamed out around her head like a halo. One of the Cybermen, grinning evilly, managed to land a punch to her back; a mere pinprick to Eighteen, but enough to get her anger up. She turned around and shot a powerful StarBlast at him. He fell to the ground and did not get up again.  
Eighteen was glad for the extra training; she was fighting better than ever before. She could feel her energy making her hair stand up and crackle from the static electricity. The very air seemed to crackle around her. And she kept fighting.  
*****  
Pan felt the adrenaline running through her again. Yes, this was what life was about, she was MADE for this! She grinned wickedly as she taught the Cybermen just how much energy could be found in small packages. Her flashing Kahmehameha's churned up the air. Her world had narrowed down to the immediate area around her in which she was fighting.  
There was a momentary break in the attacks as the Cybermen around her hung back to regather their forces. They stood there, panting, hissing and looking hateful in general, waiting for her to make the next move.  
"Come on you little slime balls!!! You want a piece of me?!! Come get me!!!!!" Pan crowed. Their hissing rose in anger and frustration as they leapt to attack.  
And she kept fighting.  
*****  
Even as she fought, Videl looked around at the action. They weren't losing, but they certainly weren't winning either. More Cybermen kept coming; their numbers seemed inexhaustible. She ground her teeth in frustration. There had to be a way out. Suddenly an idea clicked into her mind. She had to shout as loud as she could to be heard over the noise of the fight, but soon she had gathered all the others to her; they deftly dodged their attackers and met Videl in the air, hovering in the middle of the brightly lit arena. And arena was the right word for it, because that's all it was to Cell; a sport.  
Eventually she managed to tell the others her plan without any of the Cybermen overhearing. And, putting the plan into action. They started to sink downwards towards the floor.  
*****  
As they moved downward the wall of Cybermen moved with them. They blocked all the attacks but didn't throw any of their own, playing defensive while they got into their positions. When their feet hit the ground they were in a rough square, each girl facing outwards, into the corners of the arena.  
"Ok guys, here we go!" said Videl breathlessly, still warding off the Cybermen.   
She took a deep breath and blasted a powerful beam of energy upwards, zooming towards the power cube that was lighting the arena. As it hit there was a terrifying boom and the sound of shattrering. They were plunged into darkness. Shrieks of confusion were all around them, but they managed to keep their cool as Videl shouted above the racket.  
"OKAY, GO GO GO!!!!"  
They fired straight ahead into the darkness, cutting, ripping through the Cybermen ranks like a knife through melted butter. Slowly, like they had all rehearsed this a thousand times before, they began to turn clock-wise in a circle, still facing outwards, away from each other. Their beams swept over the entire arena, leaving only destruction in their wake. The light from them lit up the forms of the few remaining Cybermen. They were running for the exit, back the way the girls had come. Running for their lives.  
Eventually they stopped blasting away. Without the light from their attacks they were left in complete darkness once more. At least the tunnel didn't seem to be collapsing around their heads. 'Cell would've known that there would be fighting here', thought Eighteen, 'he probably made the walls stronger in this part of the tunnel'.  
Now that they weren't so pre-occupied, the girls noticed that the water was swirling up past their ankles.  
"We must've been fighting longer than we thought." whispered Bulma. The others agreed; they had definitely lost track of time. Bulma felt a pang of guilt at the thought of all the dead Cybermen around them. Had they wanted to do this... or had Cell forced them to? She would never know. 'It doesn't matter anyway,' she thought to herself, 'they attacked us first'. But she still felt a little uneasy.  
"C'mon guys, we better hurry, the water's rising fast." Said Pan, snapping them out of their silence. She started a small Kaio-Ken, and in its dim light they all flew up above the water and groped their way to the huge metal doors. They all pushed hard on them and the doors swung creakily open, screaming like a tortured soul. They flew through, without even a single glance behind them.  
*****  
  
  
Ok, I hope everyone will read 'Goku's Worst Nightmare because I've had some really good reviews about that already. Happy reading peoples!!!  
  
  



	11. ChickFlick Chapter 11

Sorry ppls, I 4got to mention that there has been a major time warp and Bra and Marron haven't been born yet. And I am finally getting some reviews! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!!!! *Blows kisses to her screaming fans* *then thinks 'what screaming fans?'*. Oh well.  
ChickFlick Chapter 11  
  
They pressed on as fast as they could; a deadly race between them and the fast-rising waters. Second place was NOT a good offer. The section of the tunnel they were in now seemed to go on forever, like they were going round in circles; everything looked the same. Probably because the walls were still made from bare earth and rock, and the only dim light came from miniature versions of the power cube in the battle arena. Pan shivered.  
"This is spooky. It seems like he's expecting us. Lights are on, but nobody's home. I wonder what other little surprises Cell has in store for us."  
That put everyone's imaginations to work. Soon they were all looking nervously over their shoulders and picturing terrifying things in their minds.  
'STOP IT!' Eighteen mentally yelled at herself, 'everything will be fine!' That made her feel less scared. By maybe about one percent.  
And the tunnel kept running on, straight and level. They flew, to avoid the cold water below them. The small power cubes were few and far between. To break the silence, Bulma queried  
"What are we gonna do when we get there?"  
That stopped everyone in their tracks. What WERE they going to do when they got there?  
"I guess none of us have really thought about that yet." said Videl, and Pan and Eighteen agreed. "I'm thinking, what, about 15 of them versus the 4 of us?  
"FIVE of us."  
"Yeah. I doubt the guys'll be up to much of a fight." Of course, none of them mentioned the fact that Chichi and the guys might not be there, or that they might be too late. They had to keep up SOME optimism.  
So onwards they flew.  
*****  
It seemed like they were flying as fast as they could but still getting nowhere; very frustrating. Eighteen kept thinking, 'we MUST be nearly there, we MUST be nearly there!' But it was another ten minutes before there was any change in their monotonous journey. There was a wall. A stone wall, probably about a metre thick. In the middle of the wall was a small, wooden door. Just to the right, a very out-of-place signpost proclaimed:  
BE WARNED  
Whoever dares to walk through this door has entered the Temple of Terrors. Once inside, the only way out is the exit at the top of the pyramid. More information on the separate rooms of the temple can be found inside. Past this lies the only route to the mighty Lord Cell's base.  
  
Eighteen snorted.  
"An invitation if ever I heard one."  
"I agree." said Videl.  
"So?" asked Bulma. "Are we going in?"  
"D'you think we have any choice?" Pan asked rhetorically.  
And so they prepared to enter the Temple of Terrors.  
*****  
Chichi awoke to darkness. She felt extremely tired, but slowly she could feel the energy creeping back into her weakened limbs.  
'Huh? Wha...? Where am I?' asked her groggy brain. Slowly she realised. She was being dragged painfully along the ground by a little green creature with a grip like iron. She suddenly realised what this must mean.  
"HEL-" But before she could shout for help, the Cyberman, (for that's what he was), clamped his hand tightly over her mouth. She was still too weak to resist much as he gagged her and bound her hand and foot in strong metal chains. He then slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and continued on his way as if nothing had happened.  
Chichi just felt like going back to sleep again, but she forced herself to hand on to consciousness. She HAD to know what was going on. Where were the others? How long had she been blacked out? Where was this guy taking her? The last question, at least, was easy to answer; every step that the Cyberman took was taking her closer and closer to Cell. Her blood ran cold.  
'Okay Chichi, focus.' She told herself sternly. The last thing she remembered was the immense combined power of the shield and the hologram, and the surface of the water getting closer and closer as she fainted...  
Just as she was thinking, 'hmmm, maybe I have enough power to blast him now', the Cyberman turned aside and started searching the wall with his fingers. Eventually he must have found what he was looking for, because he pressed on the wall and a section of it slid smoothly backwards.  
'Ahah!' thought Chichi vaguely, 'a secret passage!' This hidden shortcut ran along parallel to the main tunnel. But after only about 20 metres, the Cyberman pressed against the wall, another panel slid open, and they were back in the main tunnel.  
'So,' thought Chichi, 'not a shortcut. Just a way around some obstacle or something.'  
She was jerked out of her thoughts when another Cyberman appeared beside the first one. Without a word to each other, the new arrival shoved a strange looking gun in her face.  
"You ssssee thissss?" The irrational part of her mind felt like telling the Cyberman that she was blind, but her common sense told her to keep her mouth shut. Luckily, she listened to the sane part of her brain.  
"Thisss iss a laser. Now watch clossssely." Chichi watched apprehensively as he bent down and picked up a small rock/large pebble [take your pick] off the ground. He threw it up in the air, whipped the laser forward and pulled the trigger. A venomous green beam shot out and hit the rock in midair. In a split second it had exploded with a loud zapping sound.  
"That willsss be yousss if you tryssss anything tricky!" said the Cyberman, looking positively delighted, yet evil at the same time. Chichi gulped.  
The first Cyberman took a piece of rope and tied one end around her neck. He then gave the other end to the other Cyberman while he untied her legs.  
"Now get up and walk!" he spat. ChiChi stumbled up onto her feet, her hands still chained behind her back. And the laser was pointed straight at her head as they started walking.  
*****  
  
  
Ok, I know this is a bit short but it was the only suitable place for the end of a chapter. And also, I wan't to get this out soon because I'm going away for a couple of days. So, hope you liked it. PLEASE REVIEW!!!  
  



	12. ChickFlick Chapter 12

Well, I am going to try and get a lot of chapters out b4 I start my exams :( , so keep a look out for them. NOTE: The 'Temple of Terrors' part is a bit confusing, because I drew I diagram when I wrote this part. If anyone wants a copy of this diagram, email me (if you can be bothered) and I will try to scan it and send it to you as soon as possible. Ok, on with the story already!  
ChickFlick Chapter 12  
  
The door in the stone wall opened easily and smoothly. All of them except Pan had to duck to pass through without bashing their heads. They walked quickly through a tiny passageway, only a few metres long.   
"That's strange..." murmured Pan. "Look at this." She pointed to a tiny sign on the wall.  
"No special powers can be used inside this temple." Read out Videl, also puzzled. "Well, I guess we'll find out if that's true or not soon enough."   
When they emerged from the small 'entrance hall', the roof sloped above them, (the low part near the entrance; modelled on the ancient Egyptian pyramids). A two-metre wall was straight in front of them. There was a ladder over the wall in one corner. Bulma climbed the ladder to see what was over the wall, and the others watched as her face quickly paled.  
"Snakes..." she whispered to them. "It's... it's a room full of snakes." She tried in vain to keep her voice from trembling out of control. Pan, Videl and Eighteen looked at each other. They knew about Bulma's life-long fear of snakes. (Once, when she was just a child, a huge python had dropped out of a tree straight onto her head). (NOTE: That DID NOT happen in the real show, I just made it up for this story, ok?). They looked at each other again.  
"ok, I'm gonna try something..." They stood and watched as Eighteen seemingly did nothing.  
"I'm flying... except I'm not." She said. She then tried to form a Destructo Disc. Same thing; nothing happened.  
"It's true;" murmured Videl, "we can't use our powers in here. Only our strength and our wits." Eighteen turned to Bulma.  
"How...?"  
"Don't ask me," said Bulma irritably, "How could Cell take away our powers like this? I know there's that ray thingy that he used on the guys, but I think we would've noticed that. By the sound of that little sign though, it sounds like we've only temporarily lost our powers. Hopefully we should get them back as soon as we get out of this temple."   
Videl shrugged and walked over to the ladder.  
"Come on. We'd better get started."  
She turned to start climbing, but Pan stopped her and pointed to something that they'd all missed; in the corner was another small signpost, rather like the one outside. This one was titled:  
"THE SNAKE PIT"  
For obvious reasons. Below this was written:  
  
'Enter by the small door. The hundreds of poisonous snakes are prevented from reaching the ladder by the strong wall. You must climb the ladder and go through the rings either head or feet first. When you reach the end, step onto the platform and climb the ladder into the next room.'  
  
There was only one thing left to do. Videl climbed up the ladder so that she could see over the wall.  
"Yep," she said, trying to sound nonchalant, "climbing rings; just like the ones you get in little kid's playgrounds." She climbed right up to the top of the ladder and carefully walked along the top of the wall to the middle. As she was doing this, Pan and Eighteen unconsciously moved forward so that Bulma was the last in line. They watched as Videl leapt forward and grabbed onto the first ring. She started swinging back and forth, gaining momentum. At the peak of her next forward swing, she flung her legs up and hooked them over the next ring along. She then pulled herself up so that she was facing feet-first. Pan called up to her  
"Why don't you just swing along the bottom and use them like monkey bars?" she queried.  
"It's too far," replied Videl, "and there's less chance of falling this way, anyway.  
Videl looked up and around at the room before her. Overhead she saw a power cube as the source of light. Then, she tried not to shudder as she looked down at the seething mass of vivid green scales and fangs below her. 'Bulma will never be able to cope with this' she thought ruefully, as she started inching forward, through the rings. She only had about ten metres to travel. Pan was waiting at the top of the ladder behind her. Gratefully and carefully, Videl stepped down from the rings onto a small wooden platform, with just enough floor space to fit them all. She turned to face the others. Pan was standing on the wall, ready to leap onto the rings.  
"C'mon!" she yelled. Then, for Bulma's benefit, she added "it's not as hard as it looks!"  
Pan nodded and leapt for the first ring. She had never really been afraid of snakes, although they certainly weren't her favourite animals. Her small frame easily slipped through the rings, and soon she had joined her mother on the platform. Now Eighteen was standing atop the wall. Leaping gracefully forward, she decided to try going headfirst. Unlike the others, she wasn't even slightly afraid of snakes; just one of the many android characteristics she had kept when she became human. So she too made it to the platform without any major problems. She landed cat-like beside Videl and Pan.  
Bulma was there, ready to go, and already looking worried. She crouched her legs and prepared to spring...  
"Bulma, wait." Videl said suddenly. Bulma faced her.  
"Before you go, just remember; Cell DESIGNED this place to scare us. Don't listen to the fear!" Bulma tried not to look petrified as she nodded. But trying to build up confidence, she took a deep breath and jumped towards the first ring. Desparately she tried to stop her hands shaking as she swung back and forth. She was going fine until, without warning, one of her hands slipped. She screamed once then fought to keep her composure. There was a sudden outburst of noise from the wooden platform.  
"Hold on!"  
"C'mon! You can make it!"  
"Bulma, fight the panic!"  
Bulma took a deep wobbly breath and latched on with her other hand again. Still shaking, she pulled herself up so that she was going head first. And that was a VERY bad idea, because now she was facing almost straight down. Waves of terror radiated from her body as her eyes met the red, gleaming eyes of the snakes below her. They raised their heads and flicked their tongues in anticipation. Venom dripped from their fangs.  
Bulma gripped the cool metal of the rings, closed her eyes and gulped, but she kept slowly, slowly moving forward. The others kept talking to her, distracting her from the snakes, reassuring her, urging her on. Suddenly she was there, on the platform, safe with the others. Her knees were wobbling. They collapsed and she ended up kneeling.  
There was another ladder leading from the platform up through a hole in the ceiling to the next room. Eighteen kindly pulled Bulma to her feet and gave her a quick hug and a sympathetic smile. Bulma smiled weakly but gratefully back, and Pan started climbing up the ladder.  
*****  
  
Sorry it's pretty short, but I wanted to get this done. Hopefully I'll get some more out soon.  



	13. ChickFlick Chapter 13

ChickFlick Chapter 13  
  
The other three waited below on the platform while Pan climbed the ladder.  
"Y'know, Videl, you were probably right." pointed out Eighteen. "Knowing Cell, he probably WOULD have based this temple on our greatest fears. And probably some other stuff too."  
When they had all climbed the ladder they found themselves at the base of a rock-climbing wall, one of those ones with the multi-coloured hand and footholds. Cell (knowing him) had probably pinched it from a gym somewhere. A signpost at the base of this wall read:  
"ROOM OF A THOUSAND SPIKES"  
Climb up the rock-climbing wall to the top, using the attatchments for grip. Swing your way across the monkey bars. The thousands of spikes below you are as sharp as needles. Land on the platform at the other end.  
  
"This room's a lot smaller than the snake pit." Remarked Pan. "There must be two rooms on this level of the temple." The room was only about half the length of the Snake Pit, although it was the same width.  
To their left they saw the spikes. They seemed to gleam maliciously, hungry for blood. Above the spikes, contrasting greatly with the grim sight, were some monkey bars. What with those and the rings from the last room, a playground somewhere had to be very, very empty...  
"Ok," said Pan, "I'll go first. This should be easy; just like on the playground at school!"  
"Yeah. Except if you fall, you'll get a lot worse than a grazed knee." Said Videl, trying to hide her concern for her daughter.  
Pan let her eyes travel up the rock-climbing surface, picking out her route. She stepped forward and started climbing. This would be easy for her; she could climb anything and everything. Soon she had reached the top. She took a deep breath and flung herself towards the first bar. Once she had latched on, it only took another ten seconds so swing the rest of the way across and land on another of the small platforms. [Now, this platform was actually resting on the TOP of the wall, because the wall didn't actually reach the roof. So therefore if Pan wanted to she could have seen into the next room].  
Resisting the urge to see what the next room consisted of, she turned her attention to the others. 'One room at a time." She thought. For now, she was focusing on the present. The future would have to take care of itself for a while.  
The others were following fairly quickly. The whole exercise should have been easy. If they hadn't known what was beneath them, they would have been fine, but they couldn't seem to focus on the task at hand. Wandering eyes kept straying to the vicious spikes beneath, and limbs slipped clumsily. After Pan went Eighteen, Bulma, then Videl. No one seemed to have any problems with this room. Well, except for the fact that they were dangling above thousands of deadly spikes... who could be worried by that? But anyway. Pan wondered just how many rooms this temple had. What else lay ahead of them? They would probably find out soon enough.  
Once they were all safely aboard the platform at the end of the monkey bars, they turned to inspect the next room.   
*****  
Instead of a signpost, there was just a sign on the wall beside the platform, describing the room below and ahead of them. It was headed:  
"THE LOG OF PERIL"  
Below the heading, it read:  
  
From the platform, leap across onto the pole and slide down to the bottom. Step onto the swinging log and carefully walk along it, keeping your balance until you reach the lower-most platform. If you fall into the quicksand below you, you will be sucked under within seconds. Climb up onto the first platform and leap up onto the 2nd and 3rd, like stairs. Climb up the rope, using the knots for grip.  
  
Videl had to resist the motherly urge to pull her daughter back as Pan cautiously stuck her head over the edge of the platform to look down. A wave of hot, steaming air hit her full on in the face. The others looked over the side too. Below them was (what looked like) liquid sand... quicksand. Videl shivered. There was a smell in this room; the stench of death was filling her nostrils. She looked around at the others. THEY didn't look too worried. Why was SHE affected like this? She just hated the image... no, the very IDEA of being sucked down into an endless blackness...  
She had always been a girl of the open air. Although she had never told anyone, she was actually a little claustrophobic. Videl had never thought it would matter. Until now. She tried to calm her queasy stomach as she and the others tore their eyes away from the bubbling quicksand and focused on the rest of the room. Right in front of the platform was a pole, obviously used to slide down to the bottom of the room. Beyond that, in a straight line, was a long, fairly skinny log. It was suspended, about ten centimetres away from the surface of the quicksand, by 4 chains, 2 attatched to each end. The chains, in turn, were bolted to the walls. All in all, the whole apparatus didn't look very stable.  
"Like walking on a wobbly balance beam." Thought Videl anxiously.   
Pan looked across at her mother's pale face. Although Videl had never said anything, Pan had always had an idea of her claustrophobia. Just little things gave it away; things like Gohan always complaining that he was cold in the night because Videl insisted on keeping all the windows open.  
'Daddy...' thought Pan. She was missing him. It felt like she had lost a piece of her heart. 'And all the others... everyone...' she sighed. Videl, hearing her, tried to put on a brave face, and she smiled at her daughter.   
Bulma, her face set, stepped forward.  
"I'll go first." She said, as if daring anyone to oppose her. She desperately wanted to make up for her weakness in the Snake Pit, and she grabbed at this opportunity. She stood at the end of the platform, wrapped her hands around the pole and slid down to the bottom. At the base of the pole was another platform which Bulma stepped onto, and faced the log.  
She put one tentative foot on its surface. The whole thing rocked slightly, side to side, backwards and forwards. She gulped, but stepped forward with her other foot, abandoning the semi-safety of the platform. She was now only centimetres away from the steaming, evil-smelling surface. Slowly, shuffling, she inched forward. This was a lot harder than the previous two rooms had been.  
Bulma had to fight the urge to close her eyes; that would have been fatal. She didn't look up or around until she reached the end of the log. In front of her, just a bit below shoulder height, a platform extended out from the wall to her right. By her estimation, if she had had X-ray vision, she would be able to see the hole in the lake, the 'battle arena' and the rest of the passageway they had already passed through, directly ahead of her.  
Bulma hoisted herself up onto this platform and turned so that she was facing the others. In front of her were two more platforms, not attatched, but leading forwards and upwards, like stairs. She leapt from one to the other until she reached the end of her ascent. In front of this last platform was a knotted rope, dangling down through a hole in the ceiling. 'It must lead up to the next room.' thought Bulma, as she looked at the others.  
Eighteen was coming down the pole next. Graceful and well-balanced as always, she stepped carefully onto the log and made it quickly to the other end, clambering up the platforms to join Bulma.  
'Well that was fun." She said sarcastically. "Let's never, ever do that again." Bulma whole-heartedly agreed.   
Pan tried not to think about what was beneath her as she stepped onto one end of the log. 'Poor Mum.' She thought. She knew this would be hard for her. She balanced her way along and pulled herself onto the platform at the end with relief; it was nice to feel solid ground under her feet again.  
With a feeling of foreboding, Pan looked at her mother, who was now standing on the platform at the bottom of the pole. Videl's face was set and determined, but there was no mistaking the look of fear in her eyes. She set one foot on the log. Forward, back, left, right, diagonally it jerked. Videl would have given almost anything to have her flying powers just then. The quicksand would suck her down, down... She forced herself to listen to reasoning. 'Do it for Gohan!' she thought savagely, angry at herself for showing weakness. With that, she placed her other foot upon the log. Slowly, slowly she moved forward. The others held their breath. Then near the middle of the log, her legs began shaking so uncontrollably that one of her feet slipped. Miraculously, both her hands and her other leg stayed on, safe and dry. She tried to yank her unlucky foot upwards; already the suction had started to work against her. It was sinking slowly, slowly, downwards. She stared at it, horribly transfixed, unable to move...  
"C'MON MUM!!!" snapped Pan suddenly, panic in her voice. Some life started to flow back into Videl's limbs. She pulled her foot upwards with all her might, until finally, with a loud slurping sound, the quicksand released its hold on her. She just managed not to overbalance the other way. For the rest of her journey (it seemed to last forever), she inched forward on her hands and knees. Her limbs still shaking, she pulled herself up to the top platform where Pan was waiting for her. Videl dropped to her knees in front of her daughter. (Their heads were now almost at the same height). And Pan took her mother into the tightest hug she had ever done, even until after she had stopped shaking.  
*****  
  
So, can you peeps please tell me how my descriptions of the rooms of the temple are going? (Can you understand them? I hope so). So, yeah. Tell me in your reviews or s'thing. Thanx.  
  



	14. ChickFlick Chapter 14

Sorry everyone but starting from the 23rd of June (Australian time), I will be away for 6 weeks (I'm going overseas; YAY!!!). Anyway so obviously I won't be able to write any more chapters in that time. SORRY! I'll make up for it when I get back, I promise. :)  
  
ChickFlick Chapter 14  
  
One by one they climbed the rope, hand over hand until they could pull themselves up through the hole in the roof. They were now in a tiny triangular room; an 'in-between room' thought Pan, for there was nothing in it except for a ladder in one corner.  
As soon as they climbed this ladder, the reason for the 'in-between' room was made clear. The ladder went up through the sloping wall and leant against another platform. Below this platform was a small lake. Another sign on the wall told them what to do.  
'LAKE OF NIGHTMARES'  
"After you have climbed onto the platform, jump onto the first of the swinging tyres and swing across from one to the next until you reach the end. The water below you contains parahnas, crocodiles, sharks, giant octopuses, killer eels and other things unknown...Swing onto the platform quickly and climb up onto the next one."  
  
"Oh no." said Eighteen nervously. She looked down at the murky water and shivered. In answer to the other's curious looks, she said in a small voice  
"W...water has always been my greatest fear. It's an old android characteristic. Of course, once I was complete I could come in contact with water without any harm, but in the early stages when Docter Gero first started to build me, one drop of water would make my circuits go haywire."  
Into the silence, she looked down at the water again, and her breath suddenly quickened. Bulma, seeing the look of near-panic on Eighteen's face, said quickly  
"What is it?"  
"Th...There's something in there!" Silent ripples were spreading across the surface from an unseen source. Eighteen was transfixed. Pan shot a sideways glance at her and moved forward so that she was the first in line.  
Pan squared her shoulders and looked ahead. Above the surface was a row of large truck tyres, suspended from the roof by strong chains. The room was longer than the 'Log of Peril'. Pan reminded herself that it was probably the only room on that level. She glanced down and saw dark murky shapes moving through the deep water, circling restlessly... Pan tore her eyes away, took a step back, then ran and leapt towards the first tyre. It swung wildly as she landed with both feet inside it, but she gripped the chain tightly and kept it swinging to keep up the momentum.She swung it forward again and grabbed the chain of the next tyre, then stepped onto it. Pan continued in this way, trying to avoid looking down, until she reached the platform at the end. She turned around to face the others and showed them her hands, grimacing.  
"Blisters." She said.   
Next went Bulma, swinging quickly to prevent herself from thinking. The water rippled ominously below her, but eventually she made it safely across to Pan on the other platform. They looked back at Videl and Eighteen.  
Videl looked at Eighteen expectantly but she hung back, a nervous look on her face. So Videl stepped forward determinedly, trying hard to forget her unpleasant experience back at the Log of Peril.  
"C'mon Mum, you can do it!" Shouted Pan for encouragement. Videl flashed her a small, grateful smile and jumped onto the first tyre. To her relief, she made it to the other side without any problems, and she was rewarded with a sweet little kiss on the cheek from Pan.  
Now Eighteen stepped nervously forward, trying not to look down at the stirring water. Completely unlike her ususal graceful self, she leapt jerkily onto the first tyre. Still not moving smoothly, she latched onto the chain of the next tyre. Her fear was impeding her co-ordination.  
Suddenly, when she was almost at the end, and everybody was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Eighteen froze. She pulled herself in toward the chain and gripped it so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She clenched her eyes shut and didn't move except for her uncontrolled shaking. Something moved again in the water below her. A phrase from the sign drifted through her mind; '...other things unknown...' She shuddered and gripped the chain even tighter, her eyes still firmly closed.  
"Eighteen, what's wrong?" Bulma exclaimed, "You were going fine!"  
"I... I can't... I can't do it!!"  
"Yes you can!"  
"You CAN do it Eighteen!"  
"Think of Krillin!"  
She latched onto that last thought and kept it firmly in her mind. Slowly, carefully and determinedly, she unclenched her fingers and flexed them, trying to get some feeling back into them.  
"Ok," she said softly, "for Krillin."  
And with that, she slowly joined the others on the platform.  
*****  
From the platform, they climbed up a ladder into what they immediately recognised as another 'in-between' room, consisting of the sloping roof, a solid brick wall, a ladder over the wall, and the usual signpost. As they had come to expect, a power cube was their only source of light, by which they could read the sign.  
"WALK OF FLAMES"  
The flames are prevented from reaching the ladder by the thick stone wall. Climb the ladder and step up onto the platform. Carefully walk across the balance beam. The flames on either side of you will burn you to the core in seconds. Climb up onto the other platform and up the ladder into the final room of the Temple.  
  
"Good," said Videl, sighing gratefully, "We're almost at the end." She moved forward to the base of the ladder and started climbing. As her head came up over the top of the wall she gasped, more in wonder than in fear.  
"Wow..." Hot air blasted into her face and she broke into an instant sweat. Parallel to the walls, running the whole length of the room, and raised to the same height as the wall, was a sort of stone balance beam. But it was a little thinner than any normal balance beam.  
And on either side of this skinny, precarious walkway, were flames. They reached up to lick hungrily at the blackened stone. They didn't burn high enough to scorch your toes, but they were high enough, thought Videl, gazing at them round-eyed. Heat waves made the air so hazy that she could only just make out a platform with a ladder at the other end of the room.  
Gulping to swallow her fears, Videl hauled herself up to stand on the wall. She heard Pan climbing up behind her. The stone was warm under her feet. She heard the others wish her luck as she placed one foot forward onto the balance beam. The heat kept radiating up through the soles of her feet; she would have to make this quick, or she would be burned to a cinder. It was a delicate balance, and not just physically; she could walk slowly and be burned, or walk fast and lose her balance. She settled for a medium pace. As she neared the centre of the walkway she couldn't help but look at the flames. They burned regularly, and their tips were all at an even height. It was obviously a gas fire; a normal wood fire would never burn so evenly, thought Videl.  
With a deep sense of relief, she reached the end of the walkway. 'Well, that was easier than I thought it would be.' thought Videl as she scrambled up onto the platform. Her feet were still warm as she turned to see how the others were going. Seeing that Pan was about to step forward, Videl spoke up.  
"Be careful," she warned, "don't go too slowly, or you'll get burnt."  
Hearing this, Pan stepped forward and walked as quickly as she dared across to the platform to join her mother. Eighteen and Bulma, who had also heard Videl's warning, followed respectively.   
Again, like in the Room of a Thousand Spikes, none of them had a particular problem with this room. And now they were up to the last room. After that... who knows...   
*****  
  



	15. ChickFlick Chapter 15

Ok guys, I have FINALLY finished my exams!!!!!!!! YAAAAAAAAY!!!!!! ahem. Anyway, the bad news (for me at least) is that I might not be going overseas, so I will be able to update. If anything else changes and I DO end up going then I'll post here, k? Good.  
  
ChickFlick Chapter 15  
  
They climbed the ladder into the next room and looked at what it contained with dread, but also with hope. If they could just get past this one last obstacle...  
But upon the sight, Pan blanched, and her mind was instantly jerked back to a memory from many, many years ago...  
*~*~*~*[NB: This is Pan's memory].  
A three-year-old Pan sat sulkily at the table in her kitchen. Knowing that she was powerful enough to protect herself, her parents had left her there while they went on a quick shopping trip. Before they left, Pan had said to Videl:  
"Mummy, I'm hungry! Can I have something to eat? Pleeeaaaase?"  
Videl had been in a hurry, so she answered,  
"Sorry honey, not right now, mummy's about to go out. I'll buy you something from the shopping centre okay?" She bent down and gave her daughter a quick hug, then rushed off.  
Eventually Pan's hunger and stubbornness got the better of her, and she started getting out the stuff she would need to make herself a ham sandwich. There was nothing smaller than a whole leg of ham in the house, so she got out a large butchering knife and tried to cut herself some slices. But the meat was slippery, and after a couple of tries, the knife glanced off the surface and cut straight and deep across her knuckles. She screamed and screamed. Videl and Gohan, sensing her rocketing ki, rushed home and took her straight to the doctor's to have her stitched up. She still had the scar... *~*~*~*  
Snapping back to the present, Pan looked down at the vicious white streak across her left hand, then looked again at the room before her. She gulped.  
There they were. Her worst fear; blades. This room consisted of a small short passageway. Certain obstacles were placed along this passageway. First, there was a straight blade, the whole length and width of the little passageway, chopping up and down quickly. Next were two pointed blades on opposite sides of the passage, like huge daggers. They sliced inward smoothly at the same time. Lastly there was a round chainsaw type blade, swinging like a pendulum from the ceiling, into slits in the walls on either side. And through all the wizzing blades, they caught a few glimpses of a door. The exit! (Or so they hoped).  
Trying to sound brave, Eighteen said  
"Ok. Let's get our sorry little butts outta this place." She stepped forward. There was no signpost here; it was obvious what they had to do. There was only a tiny sign saying:  
"The Passage of Blades"  
So Eighteen tensed in front of the first blade, ready to spring forward. It seemed she started to move even before the blade had done its downwards slice, but in the blink of an eye, she was on the othre side and facing the next blades; the pair of huge daggers, and, after them, the round 'chainsaw blade'.  
Again, she waited for the right moment and leapt past, the blades snapping forward just a milli-second later. She felt the wind of them blowing on her back.  
Now that Eighteen was closer, she could see that the round blade was a circle of metal edged all around with cruel spikes. It spun on its support as it swung back and forth, into the slits in both walls to keep up its momentum. And past it was the door. It drew her forward like an invisible force. She leapt, but the blade was swinging so fast that it cut a glancing blow to her back. She winced. Twisting her neck, she saw that there was a tear in the back of her T-shirt, and a fine red line was slashed across her skin. She glanced once at the door, but shook of the urge to go through it. Instead, she turned to the others.  
Bulma came next, darting along quickly. When she reached Eighteen she had a worried look on her face.  
"Are you alright?!"  
"Yeah, I'm fine, the cut wasn't deep." said Eighteen, slightly embarrassed at all the fuss Bulma was making. They were both oblivious to the scene at the other end of the room.  
Videl was preparing to go. She hugged Pan quickly.  
"Don't worry, pan. I know you can do it." Pan tried to nod and smile confidently, but without much success. Knowing that there was nothing else she could do, Videl joined Bulma and Eighteen.  
Pan felt very lonely as she saw her mother go. But she knew she had to follow. Past this obstacle was the way to... well, at least they would get out of the Temple, anyway.  
Trying to act brave, as she always did, she stepped forward to glare in defiance at the first blade. Sucking in a deep breath, (and choosing to ignore the fact that it was wobbly), she darted forward under the first blade. Because her limbs were trembling, she landed on her knees. Angry at herself for showing weakness, Pan stood up and brushed herself off. A nervous sweat started to build up as she reached the next pair of blades. Now that she was closer, she could see that they had wicked, curving little hooks on their ends. She shuddered, but leapt forward again. Her timing was bad, and she just missed being ripped apart. Landing on her knees again, she gave a strangled whimper.  
The pressure inside her was building up; she was surrounded by the blades now. The seemed to gleam at her in wicked anticipation. But there was only one more... She crossed her fingers as she prepared to spring past the last blade. She tensed to jump several times, but her fear always held her back. There was nothing for it. With a cry of desperation, she shut her eyes and leapt forward, not looking or caring where the swinging chainsaw blade was.  
Luckily, she just missed it, but she got a cut down her back and her T-shirt was ripped.  
She couldn't believe she was past. She simply couldn't believe it. She collapsed sobbing into her mother's arms. And for once, she didn't even care how brave she looked.  
*****  
  
  
Ok, I know this is really short but I haven't written anymore of my draft yet so... anyway, now that my exams are over I will have more time to write and go on the net.  



	16. ChickFlick Chapter 16

Sorry I haven't updated for a while... (I start all my chapters with that sentence don't I). But anyway... I have an excuse!!! Don't kill me!!! I was writing the first two chapters to my new fic, 'Past Lives', so check it out mkay? Good.  
  
NB: I AM GOING TO BE AWAY ON HOLIDAYS from the 4th July to 4th August [Australian time]. YAY!!! Obviously I will not be able to update during this time but while I am away I will have plenty of time to work on my drafts. I will update as soon as possible after I get back.   
  
ChickFlick Chapter 16  
  
As soon as they could, they went through the little door and out of the Temple. Since they had ascended the levels of the temple, they knew they must be near the surface. They were in a tiny cavern with rough walls. In the wall opposite from the door there was a small round opening, only about half a metre in diametre. Walking over to it, Bulma gingerly stuck her hand inside the opening. Her skin made contact with something smooth and slightly slimy. She grimaced.  
"It looks like it's a sort of slide." She said, wiping her hands on her pants.  
"Yeah," Eighteen agreed, "it's probably to get us back onto the level of the main pathway."  
"I'll try it out." Said Bulma, moving towards the slide.  
"Wait!" called Videl. "We've got to try something first."  
She crossed her fingers and the others watched as she floated a few centimetres off the ground. A small amount of energy started to glow from her fingers. Sighing with relief, she gently sank downwards until her feet touched the ground.  
"Well, we've got our powers back." She said gratefully.  
"But why?" mused Eighteen. Seeing the others looking at her she continued.  
"Why doesn't Cell just take away our powers before we reach him? I mean, he knew we would come. He KNEW we would try to rescue the guys. He even took all the trouble to set up the Tunnel of Dangers for us. That's definitely not like Cell." She broke off and shuddered; she seemed now to be speaking more to herself than to the others.  
"When I was absorbed by Cell, I... I could sort of... hear his thoughts. He would make it as hard as he could for us to rescue the guys. I know him too well, unfortunately. He was so damn full of himself!" Hatred was burning in her far-distant eyes.  
To break up the contemplative silence, Bulma walked back over to the slide.   
"We'd better get going." She said.  
"Yeah," agreed Videl, forcing a grin, "we've got some guys to rescue!"  
*****  
Bulma went down the slide first. She slid quickly to the bottom and turned back to face the slide immediately, so that she would not have to see what was ahead of her. Pan, her face set, came next, wiping her hands on her pants to get rid of the slime; then came Videl. Now Eighteen was the only one left at the top of the slide.  
"Hang on Krillin. I'm coming." She whispered. And she slid down to join the others at the bottom.  
*****  
There was a long, straight tunnel ahead of them. And at the end...  
"Look! The light at the end of the tunnel!" Pan pointed, attempting a joke to calm her quivering nerves. And indeed there was a light up ahead.  
"I think this is it!" said Videl tensely. They strode forward to meet their fate.  
*****  
Goku clung weakly to the bars of his cage. The others were with him, squashed in like sardines. A special blocking shield was around them, which blocked out all sound and light, but let air pass through. He could feel his energy leaving him bit by bit. He didn't have much hope left...  
*****  
Videl, Bulma, Eighteen and Pan had reached the 'light at the end of the tunnel'. Lots of water was dripping from the roof, and seeping through the walls. The lake was going to flood the place pretty soon. The tunnel opened up halfway up a wall, into a large, roughly circular room. All around the edges was loads of high-tech equipment, which only Bulma could ever hope to understand. They had large keyboards, and various screens showed strange graphs and information. To their right was the main computer, to judge by its size. Its back was against the wall. From the top of it a sort of 'chimney' made of wires crept up the wall and across the ceiling to the centre. Connecting to the wire chimney, and hanging suspended from the centre of the room, was something that looked like a huge steel ball, about 3 metres in diametre.  
And directly below this... was Cell.  
He stood there with his arms crossed, grinning evilly at them. Behind him was all their old enemies. They could see Raditz, Nappa, Frieza, Garlic Junior, Zarbon, Dodoria and the Ginyu Force (Goldo, Racoome, Jace, Burta & Captain Ginyu). [not sure about those spellings but oh well]. They stood together in a tight bunch just behind Cell, also grinning. They looked like they were hiding something.  
Cell looked like he was suffering from some great personal joke. His shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. A small chuckle escaped his lips. His chuckling got louder and louder. Soon he was roaring with laughter at the top of his lungs. His goons joined in. Pan, Videl, Bulma and Eighteen hadn't moved. Now Bulma lent over to breathe in Videl's ear.  
"I can't see Chichi or the guys anywhere."  
"Me neither," Videl whispered back, "but keep your eyes open.  
All through Bulma and Videl's whispered conversation Cell had been laughing. Now he finally stopped and over-dramatically, he pretended to wipe a tear from the corner of his eye.  
"Please forgive me, my dear ladies. It seems that I was suddenly overcome by the amusing quality of the moment. Please, won't you come down and join us?" The girls were still standing in the opening halfway up the hall. Now they cautiously flew down to face Cell. But still they remained silent. Cell grinned strangely again.  
"Allow me to welcome you here. I hope you had a good journey?" The girls looked at each other, confused. What was he trying to get at? He continued.  
"Ah, my dear Videl. Foiled any crimes lately? I heard you were quite good at stopping criminals in their tracks. But I suppose you haven't had much time recently... with all your training and all." Videl just glared at him.  
"And Miss Bulma, the 'genius'. I often thought that you and Doctor Gero should have become partners. Just think of how much you could have accomplished! So pleased to have made your acquaintance!" Bulma just raised an eyebrow.  
"And who's the cute little one?" asked Cell, directing his gaze at Pan "Surely you don't expect her to fight? Preposterous!" He scoffed. Pan turned slightly red in anger and Videl placed a restraining hand on her shoulder.  
Something flickered in Cell eyes as their icy stare swept across Eighteen's pale face; something that looked remarkably like greed.  
"My favourite android; the delicate flower. How have you been without me? I hope you didn't miss me TOO much." Eighteen cringed back from his words like they had physically wounded her.  
I noticed you made your own entrance to my little hideout." His face darkened with annoyance. "You DID overdo it a little. You blasted the whole area. This whole cavern may collapse! But I don't need much longer. No..." He chuckled and grinned evilly. "Soon... soon I will be ready." The mad, hungry glint in Eighteen's eyes sent a chill up Eighteen's spine.   
Bulma decided that they had remained silent long enough. Stepping forward determinedly, she proclaimed to Cell:  
"We're here for our men!"  
"Men?" he asked, the perfect picture of innocence, "what men? I don't see any men!" Bulma ignored him, and continued.   
"We came for Chichi too,"  
"I don't think we have what you're looking for. After all, I can't see any of your requirements around here." Bulma glared.  
"Well, if your gonna be like that, don't expect us to give in without a fight!"  
*****  
  
  
Author's Notes: I know that wasn't a really good place to stop. Oh well. Sorry. I've gotta go do my piles of history homework now. Bye!!  
  



	17. ChickFlick Chapter 17

I'M BACK!!! Didja miss me? Well, I know I've been on holidays 4 a loooong time, (a month in fact), but I'm finally home and will be updating regularly again. While I'm still blabbing on, I'll take this opportunity to say thanx to all the ppl who have read/reviewed my story, and for sticking with me even though I know it's reeeeaaally long. :) Well, the big dramatic ending is coming... eventually. Keep reading!   
  
NOTE: I 4got to write this b4, but just for n e 1 who's wondering, Cell is in his Perfect form in this story.  
  
ChickFlick Chapter 17  
  
Bulma glared at him.  
"Well, if you're gonna be like that, don't expect us to give in without a fight!"  
"Ah, but we can't get down to business YET!" exclaimed Cell in mock dismay. "I would never let you fight me if you didn't know the full extent of my incredible plans!" As one, the girls raised an eyebrow. "It was like this." Said Cell, obviously settling himself down for a long explanation. Glaring pointedly at Videl, he began.  
"After your husband destroyed me, there was nobody to continue Dr Gero's master plans. But luckily, he had prepared himself for the worst. Before he died, he invented a very special little robot, with a single thought in mind. The unit was activated when its sensors could no longer pick up Dr Gero's life signals. It travelled the globe, collecting all 7 of the dragon balls. Once they had all been brought together, it made the wish it had always been programmed to make; it wished for Dr Gero to be brought back to life."  
Cell broke off and crossed the room. He pulled a smallish object out from the corner and blew on it. Dust flew everywhere. The thing in his hands was only about half a metre tall. He brought it over to them proudly.  
"Yes," he said, "THIS was our saviour in our darkest hour."  
Now that he had brought the small robot into the light, the others could see that it was made up of a rectangular box with wheels, sitting upright, with a cube on top. It looked like it had eyes, but Bulma knew that they were probably special sensors. Its 'arms' consisted of rods of metal that bent at the elbows and ended with two claws, capable of grasping and lifting. Noticing Bulma's slightly disdainful look, Cell laughed.  
"It's not pretty," he admitted, "and it's certainly not very impressive, but it served its purpose well."  
Dr Gero was smiling around coldly and proudly.  
"Just another of my little inventions." He said modestly. Cell, smiled too, put the robot to one side and turned to face them again.  
"Now, where was I? Ah yes, I remember. So Dr Gero came back to life. Well, in the other dimension, he and I had found a few friends, and made a few plans." He gestured expansively at the evil creatures behind him. "And the dragon Shenlong still had one wish left to give. So, following our plan, the Doctor wished back all enemies of Son Goku. The ones you see standing before you are the ones that decided to join our campaign of revenge.  
"Now that I was alive again, Dr Gero appointed me the leader of this little bunch, as the strongest warrior with the most battle-trained mind." Proudly, his cruel mouth curved into a slight smile. "So, after one year, we collected the dragon balls once more to complete another step in our plan. We TRIED to wish for all of our power levels to be upgraded to the same level as mine, but the dragon could not, or would not grant that wish. Instead, we had to ask for all of our power levels to be raised as much as possible. And so it was done. Now, together, we are invincible!" Cell's eyes gleamed. Videl decided to interrupt him before he got too carried away.  
"We'll have to see about that."  
"Ah, you will, my dear Videl!" Cell chortled. You'll see soon enough! But I'm not finished yet. After our power levels had been upgraded, we spent years perfecting our plans. We either built or stole the necessary equipment for the building of the Tunnel of Dangers, and Dr Gero came up with all the high-tech equipment for the base.  
"I believe you had an encounter with our giant spider, way back at the beginning of the tunnel? We persuaded her to come out of her mountain lair with the promise of fresh meat." Cell smiled as Bulma gave a slight involuntary shudder. "And we stole some of the parts of the temple of Terrors from little kids' playgrounds; things like the climbing rings and the monkey bars. Of course, it was easy to hire the Cybermen. They'll do anything for a good fight. Yes, I can tell you now, it took a lot of careful designing and programming to set ourselves up, but it was worth it.  
Now comes the real genius of the plan. Dr Gero had invented two amazing machines. The first one was designed like a large ray gun. If its beam touches anyone with the power to manipulate their ki, it removes their energy. Well, not exactly," he said, correcting himself, "It makes it impossible to form energy balls and the like. Their energy is still completely THERE, but the person simply has no access to it, like it's stuck behind a solid wall which is impossible to penetrate." He chuckled. "Simply marvellous, isn't it? So, anyway, we set our trap. We burst into that small house... the one on the island..." He faltered, then rolled his eyes. "They seemed to be having some sort of party. What was THAT all about?" He sniffed in distaste and despite the danger in their situation, she almost laughed.  
"I think it was Master Roshi's idea." She said. "I think the aim was to celebrate their manlyhood... or something."  
"Oh. I see." Cell said, still looking completely baffled. But he dismissed the matter, and went back to his story telling.  
"So... we burst into the house on the island and took them all completely by surprise. There's a term you humans use to describe their condition... ah yes, I remember now; I think it's called being 'drunk'. From my experience at that party, it seemed to involve a lot of bad singing and staggering around. It was very handy for our purposes, though. We only had to use the energy-zapping machine as a precaution. Your friends were caught easily in a matter of minutes." He smirked as he saw the looks of anger on the faces of his enemies. Cell was enjoying telling his little story. "Your men are the only group on this pathetic excuse for a planet that ever had a chance to defeat me. But just think... if their power was added to my own! I would be invincible, a truly perfect fighter in every way! Now, the obvious thing would be for me to absorb them, and ascend beyond my perfect form; but that was not enough for me. These people had robbed me of my glory and my pride. They had to PAY!" His eyes were flashing angrily, and he was pacing around with his hands behind his back. He seemed to be talking more to himself than to his audience.  
"They had to PAY for what they had done to me. And so, as well as the first machine, Dr Gero invented a second, even more ingenious machine. It projects a special bubble of energy. Anyone within the bubble has their energy drained away to be stored by computer. Once they were completely drained, the energy stored by computer could be transferred to ME. And then I would have their power, added to my own!"  
As Eighteen listened along with the other girls, her stomach twisted in anger and fear. This... this CREATURE had been plotting against her and her friends for years. He seemed to take an immense delight in informing them of the ways of his evil, twisted mind. He would not rest until they had heard the whole story. But finally his tale seemed to be drawing to a close. Hatred and an insane anger burning in his eyes, he now spoke in an intense whisper, directing his words to Videl in particular.  
"I thought I was perfect. Your brat of a husband proved me wrong. BUT NOW I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!!!" He exploded. "I WILL BECOME TRULY PERFECT! IT IS MY DESTINY!!!" And his mad, insane laughter filled their hearts with dread.  
*****  
  
  
  
Well, there ya have it! Hope you liked it! PLEASE REVIEW!!! I hardly ever get reviews anymore!!! :(  



	18. ChickFlick Chapter 18

It's the holidays now, so I will be able to write more chapters in less time! Yay!!! I will try to get new chapters out faster because I know that I take a loooooong time...  
  
ChickFlick Chapter 18  
  
Pan was angry, and a little confused. Cutting through Cell's laughter, she stepped forward to face him.  
"Well, that was a great little story and all, but there's no use pretending. We know you've got Chichi. So where is she? And where are the guys? Answer me that!" she snarled at him, her hands clenching up into little fists.  
"My dear little Pan," he said, smiling serenely and aggravating her even more, "I was only waiting for you to ask." He bent in a mocking bow to her, then nodded over his shoulder to the tight knot of evil beings behind him. They grinned at each other in anticipation, parted down the middle of the group and drew back to either side. Now they had moved, Bulma, Videl, pan and Eighteen could see what they had been concealing. A pale figure sat limply in a high-backed metal chair.  
It was Chichi.  
Wide metal bands around her neck, wrists and ankles bound her tightly to the chair. Her eyes were closed, and she looked as if she were dead. A smallish machine consisting of a box of wires with a gun-like nozzle sticking out was pointed straight at her. All four of the girls cried out her name and leapt forward, obeying the unconscious compulsion to get to her. Cell's voice thundered "STOP THEM!" and instantly his henchmen leapt to attack.  
*****  
In a split second, everyone in the room apart from Cell had been drawn into a huge free-for-all battle. Cell stood slightly to one side, calmly surveying the scene of absolute mayhem before him. There was a slight smile on his lips as he watched his evil minions proceed to do all his dirty work for him.  
As for Eighteen, Videl, Bulma and Pan, there was no time to plan anything. They only had one advantage. Because there were so few of them and so many of their enemies, they had more space to work in. Eighteen actually saw Captain Ginyu accidentally punch Frieza in the face. The room was, to say the least, very crowded.  
Eighteen was concentrating so hard that she thought she would burst. One wrong move, and her head could be rolling across the room. She was fighting two or three battles at once, attacking and defending at the same time. She didn't even have time to look and see how her friends were faring.  
All in one fluid movement, she punched Nappa in the face with her right fist, blocked a small blast of energy from #19 with her left arm, and kicked out behind her with her foot to connect with Captain Ginyu's stomach. She only caught a few blurred glimpses of Cell as she was fighting. He had sidled up to another of Dr Gero's machines and pushed one of the buttons on it. She saw an almost invisible shield cover all the electronic equipment in the room, to protect it. Then an energy blast hit her, and she got distracted.   
Their main objective in this fight was not to defend themselves or attack their enemies, but to get to Chichi's side. 'What if she's dead?' whispered a frightened voice in Eighteen's mind. She tried to ignore it and discreetly edge her way over to Chichi. Captain Ginyu used his large bulk to cut it off. She tried to dodge around him, but he grabbed her by the hair and held her back. This was quickly turning dirty. Eighteen wrenched free, leaving behind a fistful of blonde hairs behind, and crossed her fingers as she delivered a kick right between where Ginyu's two legs joined up with his body. (And we all know where that is...) She was worried that he wouldn't even HAVE anything down there. Unfortunately for Captain Ginyu, it turned out that he did have something sensitive down there. Soon he was down on the floor on his knees, his eyes bulging out of his head and his hands clutched over... the area between his legs (ahem).  
A kick from Nappa sent her flying in mid-grin. Enraged, she approached him and slapped him hard across the face. A hand-shaped red mark appeared almost immediately on his right cheek. Nappa sputtered angrily  
"You - "  
Shrugging, Eighteen decided to go for the more classic style. She punched him straight and hard on the nose. Almost without pausing, she whirled around to meet an attack from #19 with a few Hand Blasts of her own.  
But still she could not get to Chichi.  
*****  
Bulma ground her teeth in frustration. Every time she tried to reach Chichi's chair underneath the big steel ball, someone cut her off. She knew for a fact that she was the only one of the Z Gang that would be able to operate the machine and give Chichi her powers back.  
Raditz flew in front of her, deliberately blocking her path. One hit sent him crashing to the ground. She was ready to dart forward towards Chichi, but then she realised that Zarbon was now blocking her way. As she fired a StarBlast at him, she realised that they would have to get rid of some of these guys before they could make any progress. So she decided to stop defending and start attacking.   
She chose Raditz as her target; he was the weakest, even though he was now much stronger than when he had been defeated by Piccolo and Goku. Seeing that he was still on the ground, she took her chance, dodging Zarbon and rocketing down towards him, landing squarely on his stomach and winding him. Stumbling shakily to his feet, he realised that Bulma was targeting him. He formed a small ki blast and sent it flying towards her. Bulma tensed herself and sent the blast back towards Raditz, who was forced to duck. While he was still off balance, Bulma flew into close range and they started exchanging lightning fast blows.  
She ducked under his arm to deliver a sharp uppercut to his chin. She kicked forward with her left leg, not even pausing as one of his punches connected with her stomach. Her extra training and the difference between their power levels was really showing. Some of her other enemies stepped in from time to time, trying to distract her from her target. But she beat them off and persistently, relentlessly, she kept attacking.  
Raditz was starting to panic. He dimly saw a necklace gleaming around Bulma's neck. As a distraction, he dodged one of her attacks, whipped his arm up and gave a vicious tug on the necklace. One of the links in it snapped and it came away in his hand with a small clinking sound.  
"NO!" Bulma cried out. She couldn't lose that necklace! It was from Vegeta, it was special to her! Wildly, she reached out towards the necklace in Raditz's hands. He had a taunting smile on his face, and was dangling it just out of her reach.  
Then, his grin grew even wider as he drew his arm with the necklace behind his head. Bulma saw what he was about to do and cried out in panic. Raditz threw it hard across the room. She watched, paralysed, as the necklace and the pendant made a long, graceful arc in midair, seemingly in slow motion. It was heading directly for the large steel ball hanging from the roof. It was going to smash against it! Then, amazingly, it disappeared straight through the curved surface of the ball. Bulma's eyes widened in surprise. There was something very strange going on here.  
*****  
Vegeta sat silently in his prison with the others. Talking had stopped a long time ago. Dully he looked around at the faces of all the people he now reluctantly called friends. They were blank with despair. Restlessly he turned his eyes away. They were in a suspended, cubic cage. Around it was a sphere that looked like a big steel ball. A dim red glow seemed to radiate from the inside of the ball, reflecting its glow on them. This strange shield Dr Gero had invented cut out all outside sound; it was completely silent.  
Suddenly that silence was broken. A small object materialised on their side of the round steel-looking shield. It glittered golden in the light from the shield as it flew through the air and tinkled to the floor of the cage right in front of Vegeta. Curiously he leant forward, straining his eyes in the dim light, trying to make out what it was.  
Then he realised. It was a tiny dragon ball pendant, hanging from a delicate golden chain. And without a doubt, he knew who it belonged to. The others were looking up at him as he held the necklace in his shaking hands, his eyes wide.  
"Bulma?!"  
*****  
  
  
AN: Hahahahahaha!!!! EVIL CLIFFHANGER! :) That was reeeaaally fun 2 write!!! I LOVE cliffhangers! Except when I'm reading them of course. :) So have you figured out where the guys are yet?! Check back soon for more, coz it's the school holidays and I have more time to write. Happy reading!  



	19. ChickFlick Chapter 19

ChickFlick Chapter 19  
  
Pan ducked, dived, whirled through the air, almost as if she was dancing to music that only she could hear. Between the bright flashes of energy, she could see that her friends were also having their own private battles. She saw Eighteen smash Nappa to the ground and destroy him with a large blast of energy fired from both hands. Turning to the other side of the room, she then caught a glimpse of Bulma blowing up Raditz. Pan couldn't be sure, but Bulma seemed very annoyed about something. She turned her attention back to her own opponents. Like the others, she had decided to do something fairly permanent to their enemies. At the moment she was battling Dodoria, Garlic Jr and Jace.  
Blocking some attacks thrown in her direction by Garlic Jr, pan threw a powerful punch at Dodoria's stomach. It sunk into many layers of fat, making revolting squishy, squelchy noises. Dodoria smiled as Pan looked disgusted.  
"Eew!"  
Removing her hand from the depths of Dodoria's stomach, she looked up just in time to see Jace closing in on her from above. She glanced down and saw that Garlic Jr was moving up from below. A beautific smile crossed her face. Oh, this was going to be fun.  
Waiting until just the right moment she suddenly moved, leaving an illusion of herself behind. Jace and Garlic Jr rocketed closer together, unaware that there was nothing between them but a non-existent shadow. Just as that shadow faded away, they met head-on in the air with a loud crunching sound. They bounced back and landed painfully on the dirt floor of the lab.  
There was a few seconds of stunned silence as they both sat on the ground, rubbing their hands over their aching heads. Then their eyes came back into focus and they started yelling insults at each other. Pan turned away to continue her fight with Dodoria. As she was fighting she happened to look over Dodoria's shoulder. She frowned. On the other side of the room, her mother was frozen in midair. Goldo, from the Ginyu Force, was pelting her with small ki attacks. Videl was powerless to resist. Pan growled, shoved Dodoria out of the way and darted quickly across the room, dodging kicks, punches, ki blasts and battling bodies.  
She stopped only a few metres away from Goldo and her mother. Videl's eyes widened very slightly as she noticed Pan, but Goldo was still oblivious to her presence. 'So much the better' thought Pan grimly. She raised both arms above and behind her head and started doing some serious powering up. Her hair billowed out behind her head as her energy built up higher and higher inside her hands. Her hands were then enveloped were then enveloped by an electric blue ball of energy. Then, as the energy inside of her reached its thunderous climax, she released it.  
The force which destroyed Goldo was enormous. After the air cleared, the little green four-eyed alien was nothing but a thin layer of dust filtering slowly downwards through the turbulent air. Videl could now move freely once more.  
"Thanks sweetie." She said calmly, brushing herself down.  
"No problem Mummy." Pan said with wide, innocent eyes. And then she went back to her fighting.  
*****  
Once Pan had destroyed Goldo and she was able to move again, Videl continued the fight. She realised that Bulma had to be able to get to the energy-zapping machine so that she could reverse its effect on Chichi; if anyone could figure out how to work that thing, Bulma could.  
Chichi's chair was directly below the strange sphere, which was hanging from the centre of the roof. Cell's henchmen were roughly arranged in a circle around her. Videl felt it was ironic in the sense that they were effectively protecting her. The four girls were spread around the edges of the underground cavern, trying to penetrate the wall of their enemies. Cell was still standing off to one side, watching and smirking his perpetual smirk. Videl would have dearly loved to wipe that expression off his face, but she had her hands rather full at the moment.  
She did not allow her concentration to waver for a second; too much was at stake, more than just her own life. The lives of almost everyone she held dear depended on the outcome of the battle that was taking place in this cave. She was using quick hit and run tactics, darting in and out of her enemy's ranks. Lightning fast attacks flashed from her fingertips.  
Suddenly something whipped past her so fast that Videl did not realise until a few seconds later that it was Bulma; she must have seen an opening.  
"COVER ME, GUYS!" yelled Bulma, even as you zoomed towards Chichi. Videl enthusiastically flew forward to clear a pathway for her friend. Pan and Eighteen also threw themselves into the fray, deflecting hits that were aimed at Bulma.  
Soon Bulma was by Chichi's side, frantically feeling for a pulse on her limp wrist. Relief clouded her brain as she felt that the pulse rate was strong, steady and even. She was just unconscious. Then Bulma managed to dodge all the blows that were thrown in her direction and rushed over to the machine that was still pointing at Chichi. She examined it quickly, trying to determine how it worked. She tried to block out the sounds of fighting in the room and focus her mind on the task at hand. Suddenly her searching fingers encountered a panel, which slid smoothly backwards to reveal a simple keypad. It only had two buttons; one was green and one was red. The red one was glowing brightly.  
"Gee, sophisticated." She mumbled sarcastically to herself. She hoped Dr Gero had stuck with the old meanings of red as 'stop' and green as 'go'. Crossing her fingers, she glanced quickly over her shoulder at her friends. Seeing that they were keeping her enemies occupied, Bulma made sure the ray was correctly lined up with Chichi's body and hesitated only a moment before pushing down firmly on the green button.  
Instantly, an intense bright green beam shot towards Chichi's inert body, entering her and surrounding her with a glowing green nimbus. Slowly it faded away, only to reveal an unmoved Chichi; she looked like nothing had happened. For one heart-stopping second, Bulma wondered wether she had pressed the right button.  
But then, like a miracle, Chichi's eyelids fluttered open. Relief flooded through Bulma's body as she rushed to her side. She hurriedly released the metal bands that bound Chichi to the chair.  
"Are you OK?!" she yelled to Chichi over the noise of the battle that was taking place all around them.  
In fact, Chichi felt perfectly fine. The only reason she had been unconscious was because the machine had taken away all her energy, her ki. With the green beam of light, the walls within Chichi's soul came crashing down and her power came flowing back into her system.  
"I'm fine." She replied to Bulma's previous query. To Bulma's amazement, Chichi seemed quite cool, calm and in control. She was actually grinning!  
"But hey, you guys started the party without me!"  
"Sorry!" Bulma grinned apologetically. Chichi answered with a wolfish smile, and then suddenly she disappeared.  
When she reappeared in the midst of a clump of their enemies, they scattered every which way.  
"What the... What is SHE doing awake?!!" Screeched Frieza, outraged. Cell looked as undisturbed, immovable and remote as ever. Chichi was shooting death glares at him, anger and hate smouldering in her deep black eyes. But Cell just smiled calmly, so Chichi turned her back on him.   
She was angry at the fact that Cell had captured her, and so she used this time to vent her frustrations. Pan thought she was terrifying yet beautiful to behold, as she completely demoralised the enemies' ranks. Chichi's black hair lashed around her head like silky black snakes. The room seemed suddenly full of light. Cell's men were terrified. It seemed to them like an angel of death had exploded into their midst.  
Pan, Videl, Bulma and Eighteen, seeing that Chichi was completely healthy, battled on gleefully with renewed strength. Her awakening turned the tides of the fight. Their enemies began to weaken. Bulma had the satisfaction of destroying Gero. Pan grinned fiercely as she blew up #19. Eighteen smiled wickedly as she blasted Garlic Junior. Now there was only five of their enemies left: Jace, Burton, Racoome, Dodoria and Frieza.  
Chichi advanced slowly and deliberately. There was a menacing glint in her eyes. The other girls were right behind her.  
"Hmmm..." said Chichi, pretending to think with a slight smile on her face. "One for each of us." She took a second to look across the room at Cell. He was not allowing even a tiny bit of emotion to show on his face, but at least he wasn't smiling any more.  
Without wasting another second, they leapt forward once more into battle. The fighting grew fiercer and fiercer as their enemies became more and more desperate. The sound was intense and the huge flashes of energy were blindingly bright. Some of the dirt and small rocks that made up the walls and ceiling of the lab started to break off. This was pretty worrying as they were still below the lake. Soon there was water dripping from the roof and trickling down the sides of the cavern. The flow of water increased as the fight continued. After a time of hard battle, Jace, Burton, Racoome and Dodoria were also eliminated, leaving Frieza to stand all by himself.   
His eyes grew wide with terror as he realised there was a ring of 'puny' human women surrounding him. Mutely, his eyes sought out Cell and appealed to him for help. Cell stood as solid as a rock, unmoved. The girls were just as exhausted as Frieza, but now THEY had the advantage of numbers. They fought on and on, wearing down his last defences. Eventually he was smashed to the ground, breathing heavily. He did not get up.  
Chichi grinned wolfishly around at her friends.  
"Is anyone else thinking what I'm thinking?" They all grinned back at her. Then they hovered in the air in a straight line above the place where Frieza lay, struggling futilely to raise himself off the ground. They raised their arms above their heads and started to build up their energy into a huge Destructo Disc. Their combined energies glowed with every colour of the rainbow. Co-ordinating this attack was difficult, but it was well worth it when they saw Frieza look up and behold his fate. He could not mask the fear in his eyes.  
When the Disc had reached its peak, they released it. As one, they brought their arms sharply downward, calling out the name of the attack in one mighty voice and sending the energy towards its cringing target. Frieza only had time to cry out once.  
"NO!!! NOT AGAIN..." but his voice faded away into nothing, as he was sliced in half for the third time in his life, and his mind sank into oblivion.  
*****  
  
  
  
AN: Thankyou every1 and plz REVIEW! I know that I hardly ever update any more but school holidays means I have a LOT more time to write and go on the net, so hopefully you will hear from me again soon! 


	20. *ChickFlick Chapter 20*

Hello again everybody!!! Yay, go me! Chapter 20!!! Phew... and still going strong. Hmmm, okay, I think I am about three quarters of the way through this story or maybe a bit more, and the final confrontation is coming up!!! On the next episode of Dragon... Ball... Z!!! [AAAAAH!!! LAME!!!] [bursts out in insane laughter] [sorry ppl, I'm a little high at the moment! :) ].  
ChickFlick Chapter 20  
  
He was still just standing there. Standing, and staring at them. They were across the room from him, still hovering in he air in a straight line. Still breathing fairly heavily from the effort of building up their huge Destructo Disc, they floated slowly downwards.   
As her feet touched the ground, Chichi continued to glare at Cell, willing him to break his long period of silence. Under the fierceness of her gaze he finally uncrossed his arms and allowed his old mocking smile to slide back into place.  
"He made me lose my necklace!" Bulma growled to the rest of them in anger. Of course, they all knew how important this particular necklace was to her. "Raditz ripped it off and threw it, and then something really weird happened..." Chichi, Videl, Eighteen and Pan were all looking at her now. "You know the big sphere hanging from the ceiling?" They all turned to gaze at it, wondering what was coming next. "Well, it looks like it's made from solid metal, but it can't be; I was watching it really closely, and my necklace just went straight through it like it was nothing but air!"  
"What?!"  
"Are you sure?!"  
They all turned to look suspiciously at Cell.  
"Ok," said Chichi ominously, "I think it's time you were honest for once. Tell us fair and square: What is going on here?" A sly look crossed her face. "...Or are you afraid of facing us on even ground?" A spark of irritation flashed in his eyes, but he just laughed at her and said:  
"I really wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for you, you know. I just can't wait to see the look on your face when you find out... but no, I don't want to give myself away, now do I?" He sniggered to himself.  
They turned their backs on Cell to confer amongst each other.  
"That's it," Chichi growled to her friends, it's some kind of powerful weapon, it must be." Sho shot a suspicious look at Cell, leant towards them even further and whispered "We'll have to destroy it before he can get a chance to use it." The others nodded their agreement. "Spirit Ball?" She queried thoughtfully.  
"Yeah, that'll do the job," said Eighteen, nodding quickly.  
"I'll do it, if you want." Videl offered. Chichi smiled.  
"Be my guest."  
Throughout this whole last part of their conversation, they had been speaking quietly so that Cell would not hear their plans. Now, within a few seconds, Videl summoned up a large Spirit Ball. With a flick of her wrist she sent it zooming towards the centre of the room.  
"No!!!" Cell managed to choke out, his eyes widening with horror and shock. "Stop! You don't know what you're doing!" None of them moved, and Videl kept her energy ball straight on course. 'It really must have been a powerful weapon,' thought Pan calmly as she watched Cell pushing buttons on the large central computer frantically, his fingers flying over the keypad.  
Suddenly the metal surface of the sphere shimmered, like water when a pebble is tossed in. Then, in its place, there instantaneously appeared a hollow red ball of energy, the same size as the metal sphere had been. It was translucent; you could now see its secret which it had been hiding from them for so long.   
Videl cried out in alarm. Her ball of energy was still heading straight towards the glowing red ball. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, and, using all the power in her mind, wrenched the energy ball off its previous course. The others held their breath and watched as the ball suddenly veered around in midair and went flying wildly into the side of the cavern. Videl was breathing heavily from her effort. The flow of water from the ceiling increased even more; now there was a steady stream.  
After so long of not knowing, now they could see. They could finally see their goal. A muddle of confused and surprised shouts rang through the air, calls of friend's and loved one's names. Finally the echoes died away and they just stood there, staring back at each other mutely. Within the red, ball-shaped energy field was a metal cage. The eight corners were just inside the glowing translucent ball and the bars were very thick, set about 10 centimetres apart. A metal chain, with many electrical wires twisted around it, held the whole cage suspended in the air.  
Chichi searched out the faces of Goku, Gohan, Goten... tears sprung into her eyes as she saw the condition they were in. Goku still had his mouth wide open with the shock of their appearance. Gohan was standing close beside his father. Both had their hands wrapped tightly around the bars, gazing outwards. The sweat was streaming off them; now that the sphere had been un-shielded, the girls could feel the heat waves emanating from it. The shield around the ball had been blocking their energy signals, but even now their ki was weak, and it was slowly, slowly, almost imperceptibly, fading away...  
Goten was on his knees beside Trunks. The two younger boys were almost driven to the ground in exhaustion. Bulma gazed at Vegeta; he was standing tall and proud as always, trying to conceal his weak and helpless position. But there was a darkness in his eyes that spoke of his pain and humiliation louder than words. More than anything, Bulma wanted to reach out and touch him. She noticed something glinting golden in his hand. It was her necklace. Her eyes misted over as she realised that he, out of all people, had caught it for her. [AN: Yes... what an amazingly well placed coincidence... :)].  
Eighteen was also crying as she looked at Krillin. The little man's shoulders were slumped, but there was a hope bourn of absolute desperation in his eyes. Both Pan and Videl were gazing longingly at Gohan.  
"You MONSTER!" Pan cried to Cell in a rage. "How are you doing this?! WHY are you doing this?!"   
"It is my destiny." Replied Cell simply, unfazed in the face of her anger. "As for 'how', you have Dr Gero to thank for that." Eighteen growled softly in the back of her throat. Cell ignored her and continued. "It's fairly simple; this is the invention that drains away people's energy. Anything within that red energy bubble will have its energy absorbed into the computer, where it will be stored until the absorption process is complete. And then, I will have their power." There was still that same old evil glint in his eyes as he looked around the cavern, sizing up the recent damage. The electrical equipment was pretty much untouched, with only a few scratches, dents, and scorch marks here and there.  
The ceiling and the walls, however, were in a much worse state - [not sure about the grammar there...] - the water that was dripping from them was already almost ankle deep, and it was rising slowly but steadily. Cell, as per usual, smirked.  
"Soon I will be ready. The process is almost complete. But in the mean time..." he rubbed his hands together in anticipation... "I hope you ladies have had a good enough warm-up by now. I'm just about ready to get down to business. So, who wants the honour, the privilege, of fighting me first?"  
Bulma glanced up into Vegeta's eyes. Without saying anything, without even moving a muscle, she could tell that he was urging her on. And so, before the others had a chance to say anything, she stepped forward.  
"I'll do it. I will fight you, Cell."  
*****  
  
  
AN: VERY short chapter, I know, but I haven't updates for SOOOO long, (like months and months), I am SO sorry, but year 10 is EVIL!!! And anyway, my notebook that I write the draft for this is fell apart. Completely. It is now just a whole heap of little bits of lose paper. But I got a new one, so... ON WITH THE JOB!!! On to the big, major, fight scene!!! Ugh. I hate writing fight scenes. What do you think of the ones so far, are they ok? I keep asking that don't I? Oh well. PLEASE REVIEW. 


	21. ChickFlick Chapter 21

AN: If anyone is still following this story, I commend you on your patience. I started writing it almost 3 years ago, and I lost inspiration. But IT WILL BE FINISHED! I have written the draft for almost all of it now, I just need to write my epilogue. So it's almost over!! I just couldn't stand to leave it unfinished after I'd written so much of it. I apologise for the ridiculously long wait between chapters, and thanks to anyone and everyone who's ever reviewed this story. Now, finally, let's get on with the darn thing! :)  
  
ChickFlick Chapter 21  
  
They stood there, facing each other in the centre of the room. Cell said nothing, but moved slowly into a fighting position. Bulma did the same. A slight smile played around Cell's lips. He had the advantage here, and he knew it. Even though he WAS outnumbered five to one. Still smiling, he asked her politely:   
  
"Shall we?"  
  
And then, before she could even blink or move a muscle, he was right in front of her. His face filled all her vision as he drew his arm back, ready to strike... at the last second, she just managed to jerk her head aside and dodge the blow. From then on it became a deadly dance around the room, blasting, hitting, dodging, kicking, punching. Simultaneously, both the fighters landed strong punches to the stomach. They both went flying backwards, turned in midair and used their feet to propel themselves off the wall and back into the centre of the room. They locked fists in a powerful arm wrestle directly below the cage.  
  
The guys had all been clustered around the bars watching, but now they couldn't see a thing. They could only hear the sounds of fists against flesh, occasional grunts from Cell, and Bulma's cries of pain. Vegeta craned his neck, trying to see.  
  
"Darn it, what's going on?" he growled, mostly to himself. His fingers gripped the bars even tighter.  
  
Suddenly Bulma came zooming back into view. Cell had smashed her across the room, and this time she did not manage to rebound off the wall. She hit it with a sickening crash and slid to the floor in a heap. The flow of water noticeably increased.  
  
Bulma groaned slightly as she picked herself up off the floor and dusted herself off. 'Come on girl, lift your game, you can do better than this!' she thought groggily to herself. 'Think of the people you're fighting for...' She took a few deep, steadying breaths. She very much wanted to look up and around at her friends and family, but she knew that this would be a mistake; Cell was just waiting for her to slip up and let down her guard. She kept her eyes firmly fixed on his unmoving form. He just floated there, silently inviting her to make the next move. And so, taking a few more deep breaths, she raised both her arms in front of her, palms out, and summoned up her energy.  
  
She began to pump out an ongoing torrent of Hand Blasts, one after another. Instead of dodging them, Cell hit them all back towards Bulma, who hit them back towards him once more... like a game of tennis, but with way too many balls, no net and a much higher risk factor involved.  
  
Eventually, Cell appeared to get bored of this game. Almost casually, he destroyed the remaining balls of energy with small blasts of his own. Both fighters were now panting slightly from their exertions.   
  
"Very good!" Cell applauded, "I see you've been in training. I must say, I never expected to get much exercise out of this fight, but it seems like I'm going to have some fun after all." Bulma did not bother to reply, but simply launched herself at him again.  
  
The others looked on helplessly as Cell rained down blow upon blow, his power seemingly inexhaustible.   
  
"Damnit..." Videl growled, clenching her fists. "Can't we DO something?" Chichi also looked like she was only just managing to hold herself back, her jaw set.  
  
"No. We have to stay out of it, at least for now. We can work together at the end, but any huge explosions right now will bring this place crashing down around our ears."  
  
And so they had to watch as, slowly but steadily, Bulma's power gradually crumbled under the force of Cell's attacks. With an impact that seemed to shake the very foundations of the earth, Bulma crashed to the ground again, on the far side of the room. This time, she could not get up. Her limbs trembled just from the effort of holding her head above the shallow water.  
  
With that same chilling look still in his eyes, he hovered in the air above her. Looking down his nose at her, he spoke quietly so that no others in the room could quite catch his words.  
  
"You're not really suited for this, you know." He told her conversationally. "You're much better as a scientist than as a fighter. Whereas I have never exactly taken an interest in fiddly scientific information." He drew closer to her, a strange light in his eyes.  
  
"Power comes in many forms. I am one example - my strength is supreme..." ('More of his confounded smirking,' thought Bulma, screwing her eyes tightly shut against his words and wishing that she had the strength to block her ears as well. But he continued...)  
  
"In your own way, though, you are also tremendously powerful. Technology, my dear, can take you a long way. Just imagine... my power, your brains... think about what we could do!" His voice was intense, but it had sunk to little more than a whisper. And quite suddenly, she could see his vision. In the darkness of her mind she saw it, perfection of the mind and body, combined into one ultimate...  
  
Struck with horror, she wrenched herself away from that image and forced her eyes to open. She looked up into Cell's eager face, and the anticipation in his eyes made Bulma shudder in disgust. With that feeling of revulsion throbbing in her weak, broken voice, she gave him her answer to his unasked question.  
  
"No decent person would use knowledge for that sort of power." She raised her chin as his face grew incredibly cold at his rejection.  
  
"Perhaps," he whispered, "you're not as intelligent as I thought you were." With a contemptuous sneer he formed a small ball of energy and blasted Bulma into the ground.  
  
She was silent.  
  
*****  
  
"Is she..." Eighteen couldn't bear to finish the sentence. Then after a second of silence, they all felt Bulma's life force; fluttering and tiny, but definitely there. They breathed a collective sigh of relief.  
  
All except for Pan. It wasn't just his power that made her angry, it was the way he used it. He was toying with them as if they were mere playthings. She growled softly. And even as she flew forward, she felt blinded by her anger. She ignored her mother's cry as Videl reached out to stop her, and with a loud yell, she attacked.  
  
*****  
  
Cell was actually caught unprepared by the speed and ferocity of Pan's attack. Moving like a tiger, she darted swiftly in and out, agilely blocking his attacks and delivering slashing blows of her own. However as she moved backwards to prepare another attack Cell powered up a sphere of green light around himself, then floated there and simply waited. Goaded by that gloating look in his eyes, Pan charged. As soon as she came in contact with the green light that surrounded him a huge shock ran through her body like an enormous electrical charge. With a cry of pain she was zapped away from his force-field.  
  
"Like an insect in a bug zapper." He said, sounding supremely satisfied with himself. Pan groaned and tried to blink away the fog in front of her eyes. Groggily she forced herself to stand up, then fly. Without changing his expression, Cell released three lightning fast flashes of energy which sped through the air towards her. A few strands of black hair sifted down through the air as she just managed to pull herself backwards out of the way.  
  
But Cell was not finished with his attack yet. His three flashes of energy whirled around and sizzled towards her once more. She could do nothing but run as they blazed around the cave towards her, following her every move. She grew more and more frustrated as she was forced to avoid the oncoming attack, until finally she cried out and unleashed three balls of her own energy. After a collision of sparks and intense heat, the air cleared and the two faced each other across the water, glaring.  
  
"Come now, child! I thought that your elders would know better than to bring a mere baby before me." He mocked her, and her face burned. She was very conscious of her friends and family watching her. Then she caught her father's eye from where he hung in the cage, and she stood up proudly.  
  
"You've been defeated by a 'baby' before," she snarled at him, and his eyes flashed with anger. He attacked once more.  
  
Pan was growing weaker; she could feel the energy draining out of her even as she fought. She felt something solid against her back - it was the hard rock wall. Cell had quite effectively backed her into a corner. She gasped for air as he started to pummel her with strong punches, and now she was helpless to defend herself. She started to cry out, the screams being torn from her mouth despite her desire to stay silent.  
  
*****  
  
Videl felt all of the blood drain from her face. She was trembling uncontrollably. She had heard those screams before. She was back in her dream, and her daughter's screams echoed through her mind. She dimly perceived that the others were holding her back, and she struggled in their grip.  
  
*****  
  
Finally, Cell stopped.  
  
"Pathetic..." he murmured derisively. And then his voice changed, became gentler. "But still, for one so young... you have an enormous amount of potential. I know that you can feel that power inside yourself. And I can teach you how to use that power. Let me help you." His eyes narrowed. "Dare to become what you ARE!" Pan's heart seemed to shrink inside her. She could not have that desire for power in her. She WOULD not.  
  
"I will never give in to you." She grated out, and the old angry fire burned through her veins.  
  
"What a life I could have given you." He said softly, seemingly with regret. Then he drew back his fist for one last blow.  
  
The young girl dropped to the floor like a stone.  
  
*****  
  
MORE A.N: Only two or three chapters left including the epilogue... almost finished!!!!! 


	22. ChickFlick Chapter 22

AN: Hello again! This must be a record time for me to be putting up the next chapter for this story. It's late at night (actually, early in the morning), and I've been staring at the computer screen all night, so I won't say much. Just read and review, as always!  
  
ChickFlick Chapter 22  
  
Videl turned to her two friends. With a voice choked with anguish and a haunted look in her eyes, she spoke:  
  
" You can't expect me to stay here and watch him do that. You CAN'T."  
  
Eighteen and Chichi looked at each other seriously. Then Chichi turned to Videl and said simply,   
  
"Go get him."  
  
She zoomed off like she'd been shot out of a canon.  
  
*****  
  
"How dare you?" she glared at Cell. She was trembling with the need to be beside her daughter as Pan weakly managed to keep her head above the water. But Videl held herself rigidly in place, facing her enemy. She did not even dare to turn her head away for a second. Cell looked amused.  
  
"How dare I? Well, it's really quite easy. It goes like this." He disappeared before her very eyes and phased back into view behind her back. She spun in mid air, but not quickly enough to protect herself from Cell's two-handed attack. Just before she hit the opposite wall, he appeared again in front of her and smashed her backwards once more. This continued for some time until Cell allowed her to make contact with the wall and slide down into the water with a splash. Videl weakly spat out a mouthful of water with much coughing and spluttering. The water level was almost up to her armpits already and rising all the time.  
  
Hauling herself back into the air, she concentrated for a second. Her arms started to glow brightly; they seemed to be made of pure energy. The room watched breathlessly as she renewed her attack. Her movements seemed to be an incandescent blur of blazing white energy. Suddenly the movement stopped. The two hovered just below the hanging cage, caught in an arm wrestle of immense power. Their faces were only inches apart as they struggled against each other. Cell spoke to her quickly and quietly.  
  
"I could give you the power that would stop you ever being defeated again. I'm sure I will have some left over after I've finished here." He pointed invitingly up at the cage and the red bubble of energy above them. Videl grit her teeth. What she wouldn't give for the power to defeat him... but a feeling of revulsion swept through her at the mere thought of stealing energy from the people she loved.  
  
"You," she said, "are nothing more than a cold-blooded monster. I would rather die than take that power."  
  
Cell was becoming angry.  
  
"Then you shall HAVE death!" he raged, throwing her across the room like a rag doll. He rained down energy on her in a deadly downpour, and she screamed until she could scream no more.  
  
*****  
  
A few metres away from her fallen mother, Pan floated face-up in the water, her mind wandering around the edge of unconsciousness. It seemed to have become detached from her body somehow, floating around up near the dripping roof. Her mind looked on from above placidly for a few seconds before she realised what she was seeing. 'It was just a dream', she had told herself many nights ago; it seemed like forever to her now. She fought to hold back her tears as her nightmare became reality.  
  
*****  
  
Eighteen looked at Chichi, trying not to panic. She tightened her hands into fists and found her courage.  
  
"I have to try," she said desperately to the other woman.  
  
"I know," said Chichi softly. "I know." She put a hand on Eighteen's arm, since she could not find any more words. Eighteen nodded and moved forward to take her place in the battle.  
  
*****  
  
"Aha." Cell smiled greedily as she flew forward. Eighteen shuddered under his gaze. His smile widened to a grin. "I find this quite entertaining... don't you?"  
  
SMASH.  
  
She caught his fist inches away from her face. Her muscles were straining with the effort of holding him back.  
  
"Shut... UP." She growled. And then they were off.  
  
Cell and Eighteen shared a peculiar understanding with each other. They had quite literally been a part of one another from the first days that Dr Gero had created them. Their battle was psychological as well as physical. Cell seemed to sense her thoughts somehow.  
  
"You know, my dear, we are supposed to be on the same side." He taunted her, dodging her flickering fists and kicks.  
  
"Never!" she snarled at him in pure hatred.  
  
Eighteen tried not to despair as she felt her attacks losing power and her reflexes slowing. She raised her arms and began to power up a huge blast of energy.  
  
"I wouldn't, if I were you." Cell interceded smoothly, appearing in front of her and pinning her arms to the wall. "Of course, if you want a few million rocks on all our heads, go right ahead. Be my guest." She froze. He bent forward and whispered silkily into her ear. "I know what you want. You want the power to destroy me. Remember how it was when we were united. Remember the power that you tasted when we were one. You want to be absorbed into that power again. You want to join me!"  
  
Eighteen thrashed helplessly in his grasp even as that longing set fire to her unwilling veins. "It's not true," she whimpered. "It's not true..."  
  
"You will never have another chance for the ultimate power."  
  
Eighteen closed her eyes and Krillin's sweet face was there, floating in the darkness of her mind. She drew in a deep breath and opened her eyes once more. When she spoke again, her voice was suddenly strong.  
  
"You are wrong. I have the ultimate power here in my heart. You have never understood it, and you never will."   
  
She almost thought she saw a look of sorrow pass over his face for a fleeting second, but then his eyes hardened. In a voice that seemed chillingly familiar, he spoke with his eyes just inches from hers.  
  
"Eighteen... what have you done?"  
  
In a huge jolt inside of her, she felt like all of the air had been knocked out of her body. She felt numb, empty, even as he cut her down.  
  
*****  
  
Chichi closed her eyes as she heard the sounds of Cell's final attack on Eighteen. Her heart lurched until she checked; they were all still alive. Barely. She had not lost anyone yet. She watched as Cell slowly turned to face her.  
  
"Lucky last," he drawled. "But I'm getting impatient. I want to finish this."  
  
"So do I." She replied evenly, moving into a fighting stance. Her mind was telling her it was hopeless. She was not really any stronger than the others, and they had all fallen. She didn't stand a chance.  
  
Keeping a strong hold on herself, she pushed those thoughts away. She couldn't give up. She WOULDN'T give up. She began to raise her power level, and a breeze began in the still air of the cavern that turned the surface of the water into small waves. She was careful to keep the energy under control in the enclosed space. She contemplated just blowing away the whole lake, but she did not want to damage the machines that held the precious life force of Goku and the others.  
  
Just before she engaged the fight with Cell, she looked up at them. Her heart constricted painfully at the sight of them, the strongest men in the world made powerless. Then she turned her focus fully back to Cell, concentrating her mind on this one thought and blocking out everything else; HE was the cause of it all. The pain and the suffering... HE was at fault. And without further hesitation, she attacked.  
  
'It's not fair...' she thought, as she dodged blows from her opponent and tried to land some of her own, 'I worked so hard. We all did. But it just isn't enough...' Deciding that she wasn't getting very far in hand to hand combat, she pulled back a little and quickly fired a beam of blue light towards Cell. He shot out a beam of his own, green in colour, and the two energies battled against each other, seeming to be evenly matched.  
  
Eventually though, as Chichi knew it would, her energy began to waver. She kept up the beam for as long as she could, but she knew she was just stalling for time. The green energy came closer and closer to her as her own energy beam diminished. It finally came upon her and she was thrown across the room, coming to a crashing halt on one of the machines that lined the walls. She drew in huge, gasping breaths of air. On muscles that shook from near-exhaustion, she raised herself to her hands and knees, but she could go no further.   
  
Cell's clawed feet lowered themselves slowly and delicately onto the machine right in front of her. His voice belied the fact that he was savouring this moment.  
  
"And so it all ends here." He said slowly, expansively. His arms were crossed and there was a foul light in his eyes as he looked down upon the woman at his feet. "All of your work, all of your planning, it has all come to nothing." He spoke to the others in the room as well now - he knew they were listening, though none of them had the strength to move.  
  
With supreme effort of will, Chichi raised her drooping head and looked up to his cruel face. His eyes lit up as they met with hers, and he opened his mouth as if to speak again, but she cut him off before he could begin.  
  
"I do not want to hear your offer, whatever it may be. I think I know what you would ask of me, but I do not desire power." And here everyone in the room was amazed to hear a quiet chuckle escape her lips. "You don't understand us very well, Cell. You understand our weaknesses, our flaws and fears. You knew about these and you exploited them. But you will never understand our greatest strength." She lifted her chin.  
  
"Look around you. These people share a bond so deep that you will never comprehend it."  
  
"I don't need to. Nor do I want to." He responded flatly. "In a very short time I will have their power. And what good will their friendship be THEN?" His mouth twisted bitterly. "You reject my offer of power, then?" he asked. His question was met with a stony silence.   
  
"Then you are a fool. Power is everything. There is nothing else - no matter what you think."  
  
His final blow was triumphant and her spirit finally broke as she landed. NOTHING. He was right. It had all come to nothing.  
  
"I'm sorry..." she whispered to the darkness that she was falling into.  
  
"I tried..."  
  
*****  
  
AN: Well that was a cheerful ending... but just you wait til the next chapter. The big one is coming up! *rubs hands together in anticipation* ;) 


	23. ChickFlick Chapter 23

AN: Tada!!! One more left...  
  
I hope everyone enjoys reading this chapter as much as I did writing it!  
  
ChickFlick Chapter 23  
  
"I'm sorry... I tried..."  
  
It was these words which dragged Pan out of her semi-conscious daze. She could not bear to see it; her own grandmother, one of the strongest and most determined women she knew, finally broken.   
  
With a muffled groan, Pan dragged herself up so that she was clinging to a machine, half in and half out of the water that was by now well and truly over her head. The room was almost half-filled with water. Cell had turned away from them all now, and his fingers were lovingly stroking the surface of the main computer keyboard. Another smirk was hovering around his lips.   
  
"Just a few more minutes..."  
  
Pan bit her lip to keep herself silent. She was searching inside one of her pockets, her fingers probing... where WAS it? She carried it everywhere, she knew she had it somewhere with her... then her fingers closed around a small, brown, draw-string bag. The felt was well-worn and looked rather old. Cell had begun to talk.  
  
"In a very short time I must take my leave of you all, I'm afraid. I think you'll find this cave will shortly be underwater, and I DO so hope that you all can swim." He looked around at all of the weak figures just managing to stay afloat, and he laughed - a cruel, grating sound.  
  
Pan had been blocking his words from her mind. She pulled the little bag out of her pocket and weakly raised her head to look at the cage which held her grandfather. Slowly, as if the mere action was almost too much of a drain on his exhausted energy supply, Goku nodded. Pan untied the strings and tipped the contents of the bag into the palm of one hand. She counted at a glance, making sure they were all there.  
  
Five Senzu beans. The last hope of them all. The last hope, probably, for Earth.  
  
Taking just a second, she closed her eyes and let the memory flood back to her...  
  
*****  
  
It was her fifth birthday. Late evening, and she was tired but happy, well-satisfied with all of her new presents and cake. She was curled up in front of the open fireplace in her home, drowsily gazing into the flickering flames. The laughter and chatter of her family and friends floated in the air around her. She was warm, safe and content.  
  
Feeling a light touch on her shoulder she rolled over slightly and looked up to see Goku standing above her. He smiled widely and gently placed a little draw-string bag in her hands.  
  
"Happy birthday! These are for you." Curiously Pan opened the bag and inspected what was inside. Goku explained, "They're Senzu beans, and pretty rare they are too. Save them up for something special."  
  
And she did. She had carried the bag with her ever since that day. Now, perhaps, they would finally be used.  
  
*****  
  
She was flooded with the sense of that memory in only a few seconds. Then she opened her eyes to the scene of wreckage before her. Cell had started to blather on in his self-satisfied way again. Pan ignored him and started moving through the water. Slowly, carefully, so she didn't catch his attention. He was still gazing at his machine even as he spoke to them. Pan put one of the beans in her mouth, then started to move towards Bulma, praying that Cell would not notice her. But he was far too absorbed in himself to do that.  
  
"This day has been a long time in the coming. For years I have waited... it was I who was meant to be the ultimate power of the universe. But it was denied me, by YOU." His mouth curved upwards in a cold smile. "How ironic that it will be yourselves who finally give me the power to take my revenge on this world. All that power, and not one of you left to stop me!"  
  
While he was talking Pan had given a bean to Bulma, Videl, Eighteen and Chichi. Slowly they felt energy seeping back into their bodies once more, ready for one final fight. They gathered quietly, waiting for Cell to finish his little speech.  
  
"All I have to do is throw those pathetic creatures out of their little cage, and stand inside the sphere. Once inside, I just stretch out my arm a little..." (here he demonstrated, using the Namekian style), "and press this little button, right here." His hand hovered over a green button on the computer console. "Then the power flow will reverse, and then..." He smiled.  
  
This had gone far enough. Pan rose from the water, her face set.  
  
"No."  
  
Cell jumped and spun around, suddenly hearing this unexpected voice from behind him.  
  
"No?" Then he laughed. "And I suppose a little girl like you is going to stop me?" Cell started to laugh again. He seemed to find something about the situation incredibly amusing. He howled with laughter until Pan's blood began to boil. A welter of images and emotions began to stream through her head. The look of pain on her mother's face, the quiet despair in Chichi's voice, the hopelessness in the eyes of the men in the cage. Wave after wave of sadness and pain, and over it all she could hear the sound of Cell's laughter.  
  
A tide of anger rose up within her body. Then suddenly something inside of her snapped, and she let out a cry that was borne of pure energy. A golden light shone from her body and flickered in the air like lightning. Her hair crackled with electricity; it too was gold in colour. And her eyes were as green and hard and cold as emeralds. Cell flinched back from the ferocious anger in those eyes.  
  
Everyone in the room stared at her in complete and utter amazement.  
  
In the hanging cage which was now only a few centimetres above the water level, Vegeta turned to Gohan.  
  
"Where did she learn THAT?!" he demanded of him. But the younger man only shook his head in bewilderment. Goku seemed to be having a great deal of difficulty with closing his mouth.  
  
The girls also looked on in astonishment.  
  
"She's not just a Super Saiyan," Chichi whispered in awe, "she's reached level TWO."  
  
Pan did not hear their whispers. An icy calm had swept over her. She felt at once the supreme power of her body, and a sense of detachment from it. Her face, bathed in glorious golden light, was hard and determined. Cell, trying to bluff over his original shocked response, faced her.  
  
"Well, well, well. Apparently history DOES repeat itself." As he finished speaking, he realised his mistake.  
  
Pan's voice was as cold and unrelenting as stone.  
  
"Yes. It does."  
  
The other girls contributed their own energy blasts as Pan fired up a one-handed Kamehameha.  
  
He was blown away.  
  
*****  
  
The cave was dark except for the glow of the machines' screens, and quiet except for the sound of gushing water and heavy breathing. Slowly their eyes adjusted.  
  
"Bulma! The computer!" It was Chichi, drenched to the bone and looking exhausted. Videl was with her, holding Pan tightly in her arms. The young girl had dropped out of Super Saiyan mode and seemed to be unconscious. Eighteen was floating near the cage.  
  
The cave was three quarters filled with water, and the huge blast that had caused Cell's destruction had let loose piles of dirt and rocks. They had a few minutes before they were all underwater. Bulma took a deep breath and dove down, swimming quickly until she located the keyboard with it's little green button. Crossing her fingers, she pressed down on it hard. She shot back to the surface, and watched with the others.  
  
A quiet hum came from the complex machine. It grew and grew in intensity as the glowing red bubble around the cage became brighter. Gradually the humming became so loud that it filled their ears. There was a huge flash of bright light, this time green.  
  
When it had subsided and their eyes once more became accustomed to the semi-darkness, the girls looked breathlessly to the cage. The men were just standing there, their eyes filled with wonder. Slowly, then faster and faster, their energy levels soared upwards. Their spirits soared with them.  
  
Chichi's grin of joy was interrupted when she bumped her head on something. She looked up. The water had floated her right up to the ceiling.  
  
"Oh dear."  
  
Hurrying now, Vegeta bent open the bars of their cage, and they all clambered out with relief. Goku looked around, then spoke rapidly.  
  
"Alright, everyone get into a circle and make sure you're all touching the person on either side of you. I'll get us out of here." Hands found shoulders, arms, wrists, and -  
  
"VEGETA!!" Bulma shrieked. His teeth flashed her a quick, evil looking grin in the dim light. She took his hand and almost crushed it in hers. The circle was completed.  
  
Goku scanned around to make sure they were all ready.  
  
"Ok everyone. I think it's time to go home." He raised two fingers to his forehead and his face deepened into a look of concentration.   
  
The next second, the cave was empty.  
  
*****  
  
AN: Omg... I can't believe I'm nearly finished. Just one more chapter to go!!! *sniffles and gets all sentimental* Well, there it was. The big one. The one you've all been waiting for. ;) Now THAT was satisfying to write. Cell was really getting to be annoying, the pesky little bugger. Hooray for Pan and the others!! Please review. 


	24. Epilogue

ChickFlick Chapter 24 - Epilogue  
  
Pan opened her eyes. Patches of light and shade flickered across her face as the tree above her waved its leaves lazily in the gentle breeze. The sky was a deep, joyous blue, and the sun was pleasantly warm. Pan noticed rather vaguely that there was a bird singing somewhere.  
  
Slowly, she sat up. She was lying near the edge of the forest clearing, back at Chichi and Goku's house. Obviously she had not been unconscious for that long. A smile lit up her tired face as she beheld the scene before her.  
  
Her family and friends were rushing around, hugging each other, laughing, crying and grinning at the same time. Gohan was talking to Videl. Pan got that warm fuzzy feeling inside as she saw that they were holding hands. At that moment Gohan glanced over Videl's shoulder and saw his daughter sitting up. Calling out to the others, he ran to her and knelt down beside her  
  
"Daddy!" Pan threw her arms around her father's neck. Now she was not a fighter with the ultimate power; she was just a girl, tired but happy, in the protective circle of her father's arms. Videl quickly joined them, and then in a rush the others were around her, congratulating her, asking her questions without waiting for an answer. She laughed happily.  
  
It had been a long day.  
  
*****  
  
Nobody wanted to be separated so soon after their reunion, so as the sun went down they flew to the Capsule Corporation building to make use of its dozens of guest rooms. Bulma let Chichi deal with the cooking.  
  
Dinner that night was a noisy affair. There was always more to talk about. Around midnight, just as she was about to fall asleep face-down on the table, Gohan picked up his daughter and carried her through the halls to the room that would be hers for the night. Pan gave a wide yawn as he put her gently into bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. Gohan sat down on the edge of her bed, stroking her hair softly.  
  
"That was an amazing thing you did today, Pan. Cell must have been quite annoyed at you."  
  
"Yeah," she agreed, and a jubilant grin lit up her sleepy face, "didja see the look he gave me?" She let out a wicked little laugh, and her father laughed with her.  
  
"He's probably very angry at our family right now. I think we kind of rubbed his defeat in his face a bit."  
  
"Just following in your footsteps, Daddy." She replied glibly. Then she yawned and snuggled down deeper under the blanket.  
  
"Besides, I love you." She told him sleepily. "I wasn't going to let him get away with it.  
  
Gohan smiled at her.  
  
"I'm glad to hear it. Now, you need to get some sleep, ok?" He waited for a reply, but he got none; she was already in a deep slumber.  
  
As he stood up quietly he pondered silently on the power of love and everything it had done for them. He turned out the light with a click and stood marvelling in the darkness. In a voice so soft with wonder it could hardly be heard, he said to himself:  
  
"I must be the luckiest father on earth."  
  
Shaking his head in bemusement, he left the room and shut the door behind him.  
  
In the darkness, Pan smiled in her sleep.  
  
*****  
  
In the dim early hours of the morning Gohan and Videl could be found walking through the corridors of Capsule Corp. hand in hand, heading back to their guest room. There was a comfortable silence between them as they walked, the silence of two people perfectly content to be in one another's presence.  
  
They reached the door and Gohan opened it for his wife. Videl smiled at him and stepped through. Together they sat on the edge of the bed in the darkness.  
  
"Are you tired?" Gohan asked her softly.  
  
"Yeah... just a bit." Shelaughed under her breath. "I was scared today. I thought that I was going to lose the two people I love most in the world."  
  
"Me too." He replied sincerely. "But we're ok. We're all ok thanks to you guys. We would have been finished without you."  
  
"I had something worth fighting for." She said simply.  
  
"I mentioned to Pan that I think Cell has a bit of a grudge against this family now." He said, smirking rather uncharacteristically. Videl smothered a laugh with one hand so as not to wake up Pan, who was asleep in the room next to theirs.  
  
"Maybe. Just a bit."  
  
*****  
  
Bulma was glad to be home in her own room for the night. She flopped backwards onto the double bed she shared with her husband, waiting for Vegeta to finish in the shower.  
  
"You'd better not leave your towel on the floor like you always do!" She growled in the general direction of the ensuite. At that moment the door opened and he returned, wearing a pair of dark blue baggy pants. Bulma could clearly see the soggy towel on the floor through the open door of the bathroom.  
  
She wriggled down under the covers and the two faced each other, their eyes inches apart. A slow smile grew across Vegeta's face.  
  
"Did you have fun today?" His dark eyes glittered in the dim light.  
  
"Did YOU?" she countered, struggling to repress the urge to poke her tongue out at him.  
  
He reached out and touched her face with gentle fingers. The gesture was so unexpected and unusual coming from him that her heart wanted to explode and she felt like bursting into tears.  
  
"Look under your pillow." His breath tickled her ear as he whispered softly.  
  
"What is it?" She started to say, but he lay one finger across her lips for silence. His eyes were unreadable.  
  
Curiously she slipped one hand under her pillow, and her fingers came in contact with something cold and hard. The familiar shape made her heart beat faster. Carefully, she drew it out.  
  
A miniature dragon ball glinted on its delicate golden chain.  
  
She couldn't find words to express how she felt, so she kissed him instead.  
  
*****  
  
Eighteen couldn't sleep. She had been tossing and turning for a long time now, and still her exhausted mind would give her no rest. Blank faces turned towards her behind her closed eyelids.  
  
"Krillin?" She whispered quietly, not really expecting an answer at this time of night. But a sleepy 'yeeees?' came back to her. She turned on her side to face him, propping herself up on one elbow.  
  
"Do you think what happened today was my fault?" she asked, getting straight to the point.  
  
"WHAT?" He suddenly sat straight up and looked at her in shock. "What gave you THAT idea?"  
  
"Well, if it wasn't for me, Cell would never have become perfect." She stated matter-of-factly.  
  
"But that doesn't - "  
  
"He made me an offer." She cut him off abruptly. "And I remembered how it felt to have that power, and I was so scared, because there was a part of me that still wanted that." She fell silent, and her hand crept into his. When he spoke, she was surprised by the force in his voice.  
  
"How dare you blame yourself for what he did to you, to all of us! He has no right to make you feel like this. I only wish I had the power to make him pay for it." His hands were balled into fists. She couldn't help thinking that he was so cute when he got angry, and it happened so rarely that it always caught her unawares. She was touched by his anger on her behalf.  
  
And suddenly, with the power of Krillin's words, those blank, hopeless faces that had been staring at her inside her mind blurred to become eyes and lips and noses, and they smiled at her. She laughed softly, and held him close.  
  
"Thankyou."  
  
And she meant the universe in that one simple word.  
  
*****  
  
Her bones were tired. She was getting too old for this, she thought with a wry smile. Goku just laughed at her when she told him that.  
  
They had made it. The relief was so enormous that it seemed to fill her up and overflow into everything around her.  
  
And now there were no more words left to tell. For now, at least, their story was over.  
  
Chichi reached over and turned out the light with a click.  
  
**********  
  
AN: THE END!!!!!!!!  
  
I can't believe I've done this. I'm going to ramble for a good long while now, so if you can't be bothered don't worry, just skip this bit and go straight to the review box (not-so-subtle-hint).  
  
First of all, thankyou to anyone and everyone who has ever read or reviewed this. This is the longest by far of anything I've ever posted on fanfic or fictionpress. I started writing this story four years ago. For four years of my life it's been in the works, and now it's finished. I feel kind of funny about that. Looking back on it now, it's amazing to see how far my writing's come in four years' time. I'm not saying this story is good quality writing, really, but it's come such a long way. And now I'll never write it or type it out again. It's done. If I could be bothered I would go back and edit all the really crappy bits that I wrote years ago, but I really don't have the effort in me. I'm leaving it like it is.  
  
I'm not sure what I'm going to write next. I have a lot of half-formed ideas in my head, but nothing has ever hit me with the force this story did. I spent hours, when it first came to me, thinking about it, hashing out the plot in my mind and madly scribbling it down trying not to forget anything. For me, who is usually a short, descriptive story-writer, an epic action/adventure fic was certainly something out of the ordinary.  
  
But even though I got sick of it sometimes, I had fun. And I hope everyone else did, too.   
  
So, til next time, this is a goodbye.  
  
Thankyou. 


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